Technomage
by Illuviar
Summary: One evening you mind your own business and then a vortex opens, throwing you in a world of Heroes and Monsters. Given a gift of magic, with a lot of strings attached, you try to make a difference in the face of Braniac's invasion. All the while your very nature works against you. Then years later, you find yourself in an ever bleaker world, with the daemons of your past waiting...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Prologue**

 **Part 1: A new beginning**

 **May 27, 2014**

 **Location Classified**

 **Earth Bet**

"You promised to tell me the truth!" the blonde teen confined to a hospital bed pouted at me.

"It's a long story." I muttered.

"So? It's not like either of us is going out of here anytime soon. Unless they let me fix us?" she fluttered her eyelashes at the camera in the upper left corner of the room.

"Nope. Making puppy eyes won't help. No matter how good you've become at it." a pleasant woman's voice came from speakers masterfully concealed in the walls. "Until we are sure you aren't compromised neither of you is going to be doing anything funny."

"You are no fun." Riley pouted. "Plweease?" Her lower lip trembled, giving her an unresistably addorable look.

"On the contrary, dear. I'm lots of fun. And the answer is still no."

"What did I do to deserve this?" I whispered.

"Don't get me started. Besides you promised me explanation too. So start. I have whole day."

"Yeah. The joys of multitasking."

"Enough mister!" Riley glared at me. "You promised!"

"I know when I'm outnumbered."

"Good." another woman's voice sounded from the walls.

"Ah. You too, dear. This is unfair." Really, what did I do to deserve this inquisition?!

"Now, dear, don't be cotrire and start talking." she said in that deceptively sweet voice I've learned to be wary of.

Smiling at the camera, I conjured a white flag and waved. "I surrender! Where do you want me to start?"

"The fun parts!" that was Riley, naturally.

"At the beginning!" two voices came simultanieously from the speakers.

"You are clearly outvoted." I smirked at Riley who threw one of her pillows at me. "OK, the beginning. It wasn't glamorous. At least from my point of view. Though I later learned that the fella who engineered the whole thing had a much more exciting time, the bastard."

"Language!"

"Yes, dear. Now where was I?"

 **=TM=**

 **02:50, December 9, 2015**

 **My apartment**

How it all began, you ask? Well I didn't really know. Not at that time anyway. First, let me tell you my side of the story. It all began on what appeared to be a normal December's night. Rather cool, with a lot of fog outside. I couldn't see the other side of the street from my bedroom's windows and that was less than fifteen meters away. At least there was no snow.

Why that's important? Well, it was at the time. You see, the local government tended to be rather surprised by the snow. Every damn year, and rather slow on the uptake with cleaning up the streets. Before I got a flat near a metro station, sometimes during the winter it's been impossible to reach work on the first couple of days after it started snowing. But, I'm starting to ramble. Don't mind me, I got nostalgic for a moment. Where was I?

Ah. I fell asleep early and awoke a bit after midnight. After surfing the net for a bit and checking for a MMO to try, I decided on DC Universe online. So I set it up to start downloading and went to take a shower and shave. Just ordinary stuff, you see.

No, sweetie, no need to make such a face. As I said, it was a perfectly normal night as far as I knew. Yeah, go on. Giggle at my expense. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't so adorable, munchkin.

Yes, the story. I shaved and was about to prepare for a hot shower, when my normal night became anything but. My first clue was tingling all over my skin. It was like static electricity, but not quite. I couldn't explain it at the time. After all, it wasn't like I had felt magic before. The hairs on my skin stood up and I felt a buzz in the back of my head.

The next thing I knew I was falling through a formless void...

 **=RD=**

 **Time: It has no meaning here**

 **Location: Somewhere between the universes**

I screamed. It took me at least few minutes to figure out that I wasn't about to go splat right now. It didn't help much. Did I mention that I have fear of heights?

It was cold, but at least there was no wind. No real air resistance either, though I figured that much later. Just the head rush of falling, of gravity pulling you down. It was both awesome and terrifying. The fact I expected to end as a stain on the ground once I reached the bottom wasn't helping my mental state. My heart was hammering within my chest so fast I wondered if I was going to get a heart attack as a bonus. Before you know, becoming a pancake.

I lost track of time, just tumbling through the void.

What I remember from that journey... Even now I shudder. They say that if you stare at the abyss for long enough, it looks back. Curiously no one even whispers about what happens when you fall through it, and the being there look at you. Being in that... place, it alters you on the fundamental level. Both body, but more importantly, Soul.

You could say that the middle aged man who fell in the crack between dimensions back on my Earth and the one who appeared on that spaceship, they were radically different beings. Oh, mentally I was mostly the same. For the time being. My mind was my own, so if I met someone I knew, they wouldn't consider me a stranger after chatting for a bit.

I know, it's not a good comparison, especially with all the ways to mindcontroll or impressionate someone.

I knew nothing of that at the time. That's it, until I landed.

The Void shifted. A light formed below me. And I was rushing towards it at terminal velocity. I saw a portal, a rift in the Void. That was the source of the light, a circle cut into the nothingness, showing a dull, metal floor.

"Oh. Fuuuu..."

 **03:33, December 9, 2015**

 **Unit 531**

 **High Orbit over Earth**

"Well, this is new. I must be dreaming. Yeah. The alternative..." Nonono. Nope. It's not happening. ROBs, Space Bats and other such things, if they are real, must have no interest in little old me. None whatsoever. Nuh,uh.

Its a dream. Right. A dream.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down my heart, which was doing its best to tear a hole in my chest and run away. At least I was dreaming. That was the logical explanation. A vivid, dream but dream nonetheless. People didn't just fly. Not in the real world!

I patted myself on the back. Bloody dream, it nearly gave me a heart attack.

At least now that I'm aware, I can have a bit of fun before awaking. I smiled and looked around. I was in a rather big room, made of orange tinted metal. There were some kind of consoles flashing alien symbols. So I was imagining a space ship of some sort. Plus flying, or floating above the ground to be more precise. There was a door to the left, what you could imagine for a sci fi setting. All glowing metal and it looked like that it folded in the walls.

Hmm… It was familiar. Ah, DC Universe online. The game I left downloading before ending here. Huh, I must have fallen asleep while browsing the Space Battles forums. No matter, let's see where this dream goes.

I looked at myself. I was wearing a costume, black and forest green, mostly green. I had a cape too. Green with midnight black trim. A hood, which should have been obvious, but I guess my mind wasn't particularly sharpish while I slept. Gloves and boots in the same motif, rather comfortable ones too. My pants were black with some strange arcane symbols overlaid upon them. Huh. I almost recognized them.

The door slid open with barely a hiss, revealing a single robot, which stalked towards me. Cool!

I tilted my head looking it all over. The detail was incredible. Further it wasn't like what I've seen from the game. Instead the way it looked, the texture… It was rather lifelike instead a computer generated model.

The machine looked at me and I could swear that its crimson eyes glared at me. Was I expected to fight it or something?

Then I was on the ground and my jaw hurt. The robot was striding towards me, murder shining in its eyes.

"The hell?!" I exclaimed, scampering backwards.

This was a dream! It wasn't supposed to hurt, damn it!

The accursed machine tried to cave in my ribs with a kick, but I was able to roll away in the last minute. What the hell was happening?!

"Can we talk about this?!" I shouted.

Fuck. I rolled straight into a corner. The machine came at me cocking a metal fist. "Hold on! This is some kind of mistake!" I raised my hands in the stop gesture. The robot swung my way… and was promptly blasted away by two blue beams of energy that emanated from my palms.

The android hit the floor hard, tumbling few times before stopping at the far end of the room. I glared at it. Of course it landed in front of the door. And to no one's surprise it wasn't down for the count. Then it hit me. I just used some kind of energy attack! I looked at my palms, being careful not to point them at myself. There were circular indentations in the fabric of the gloves, looking suspiciously like the repulsors build in Iron Man's suit.

The robot stood up shakily. There were two deep gorges in it's chest plate and they were glowing slightly. Wow, I melted whatever it was made of. Wasn't that cool?!

It started shambling my way, obviously the damage was worse than appeared. Now how the hell I shoot it again?! I punched in it's direction with open palm.

Nothing happened. I did it again and again as the robot came towards me. He was nearly in grappling range when another blast of light struck it, this time grazing its head and melting half its face. It gave a loud electronic shriek, making me cover my ears, before crumbling to the ground.

I starred at the pile of scrap, willing myself to awake, though I didn't harbor much hope that it would work. Not after that punch. Damn, it was starting to dawn on me that I was the newest plaything of some kind of omnipotent being. Fuck it all!

If that was the case I needed to get out of here. Now.

At least the door wasn't sealed. It neatly folded in the walls, letting me leave the room without any fuss. I made my way down the corridor, trying to be sneaky. Then shook myself for an idiot. As if I could sneak past robots. Who knew what kind of sensors those things had not to mention that I was sure that there were cameras tracking my movement.

Soon I reached the end of the corridor, a corner leading left. Well, let's hope that there isn't someone ready to blast my stupid head away. I carefully leaned around the corner and glanced down the hall. Ah. Shit. There were three more robots and few big metal boxes in front of the only door.

This was going to suck. There goes nothing. I walked around the corner, my hands extended in front of me. The machines were already sprinting my way.

"Shoot damn it!" I exclaimed. In the next moment whatever weapon was integrated in my gloves activated. The leading two machines ware blasted off their feet and I was momentary blinded by the bright azure light.

Second later, a freight train collided with my chest and threw me on the metal floor. The impact drove the air out of my lungs. There was something straddling me. My eyes focused just in time to see a metal fist flying at my face.

 **=TM=**

 **Part 2: Awakening**

 **03:41, December 9, 2015**

 **Unit 531**

 **High Orbit over Earth**

"Fuck!" Smash. "Damn it!" Punch. Slam.

Each strike rattled my teeth. By now my brain should have been turned into mush.

The damn robot was doing its best to smash my head through the floor. It's punches bloody hurt… Though not as much as I would expected. By all rights the machine should have killed me already. Hell, the fist robot that hit me in the face should have let me with a broken jaw at the very least, damn it! Instead, it had my right hand in a hold, keeping my palm away from itself and my left was on my chest under its pelvis.

All the while, it was using its free hand to try bashing my head in. It fucking hurt. It struck me again and again.

I was helpless, unable to use my weapons on it. I was going to die here…

NO! Fuck this whole fucking situation and the horse it rode on! The god damned BROB too! I won't die here, murdered by a fucking tin can! Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I struggled to point a weapon at the robot. He ignored me and raised a fist for another strike, when we both heard metal screeching. It tilted its head and looked at this left arm. The elbow joint was slowly grinding away from its socket as I forced its hand away.

Under different circumstance I would have been amazed at the feat. There should have been no way for mere flesh and blood to overpower the machine. Instead I grinned when my palm aligned with the robot's face.

"Go to hell!" I roared.

A rod of azure light blazed from my hand and the machine froze.

When my eyes readjusted few seconds later, the headless body of the robot stood still, its right fist raised for a blow that never came.

Getting out from under it proved a bit of a challenge, because the machine had locked the moment its head was gone. It took me couple of minutes to worm my way out. The first thing I did after I was back on my feet was to check my face. My lips were a bloody mess and so were my cheeks if what I could feel with my fingers was any indication. The only surprise was that My whole face wasn't wasn't bleeding. I shrugged. It was a problem for later. I needed to get away.

 **=TM=**

Naturally, my woes were far from over. Mr. Murphy was acting strong tonight. First, it appeared that I might make it out. I faced few scattered robots, but got lucky and shot them before any of the machines could get into range. I should have known better.

My only way forward led to a large, semi open area. It was a junction with at least half a dozen doors leading in different direction. There were many consoles, all of them running either what appeared to be LCD displays or honest to god holograms, as well as a lot of the metal containers, stacked near two rows of half a dozen columns.

Then there was IT. Some kind on unholy hybrid by a Giant, with capital G, brain and insectoid robotic body. When I entered, it was skittering towards the far end of the compartment, but it immediately turned around and charged me.

Well, fuck. I jumped away, just in tame to avoid being squashed by the damn thing. The moment I was back on my feet, I snapped a hand its way, sending an energy blast it's way. It was great that I figured out how my weapons worked. There was some kind of mental component combined with a motion that triggered them. Probably a safe feature so the wearer won't shoot himself by accident.

That left the question who made them and gave them to me. No to mention my bizarre costume. However, none of that mattered until I was somewhere safe. Besides it wasn't like I had much time for pondering. The supper bug screeched as I shot it, leaving an angry scar at its side. The damned thing was tougher than it looked like.

It charged me again. I rolled away with ease. My body was responding much better than I was accustomed to. Another thing to shelve for a latter examination. This time I didn't bother standing up and blasted it from my prone position. The two beams criss-crossed it's side, leaving lines of half molten metal in their wake. The beastie tried to turn around and slipped, because one of its legs wasn't working properly.

Neat. Before it could recover, I rained shot after shot at it. Aiming at its apparently vulnerable legs. Thirty or so blasts later, it was crippled and unable to move. During my bombardment I noticed that its main body was protected by some kind of shields. My shots weren't obviously effective on the force field. I frowned at the cyber monster. I wanted the damn thing dead. It tried to kill me, just as everything I met ever since stepping foot in here. Wherever this place was. Unfortunately my only weapon was far from effective.

I frowned wondering how to take it out. I didn't want to leave it behind. For all I knew it could repair itself and come after me. In the worst possible moment of course. Damn, I needed stronger blasts.

When I thought that, my hands snapped on their own volition. My thumbs and index fingers touched each other and I spread my palms. Blue light flashed between my hands and a single, much thicker beam lanced at the crippled cyborg. It speared through it's shields and bore a hole straight through. The hybrid twitched a few times while I was too busy gagging at the smell of cooking flesh.

At least that thing was gone.

 **=TM=**

 **May 27, 2014**

 **Location Classified**

 **Earth Bet**

"That's all very interesting, but how did you get here in the first place?!" Riley exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure. Let me tell you, it was an accident."

"I'm not surprised. Just to be clear, no more experimenting in the basement. Like ever."

"Nothing dangerous, I promise! Just the odd..."

"NO! Or once you are out of quarantine, you'll be sleeping on the couch."

I grinned. I had goood memories of that place. Hell, the first time we...

"Alone."

Ah. Right. "No experiments in the basement or anywhere near home. I hear you loud and clear, dear."

"You are so whipped." Riley giggled.

"Shush, you."

"That goes double for you, young lady. Do you think I don't know about your lab?!"

"That's not fair!" Riley shrieked.

"Fine. Let's see. My illustrious arrival in Brockton Bay. And I thought that Metropolis and Gotham were bad..."

 **=TM=**

 **22:41, January 11, 2011**

 **Winswol High School**

 **Brockton Bay**

This time I found myself face full with tiled floor. Well, pieces of shattered tiles if you want to be punctual. I rolled on my back and whistled. There was a hole in the ceiling above me. In the one above it too, all the way up through the roof. I could see the stars twinkling merrily through my makeshift entrance.

"Ouch." I muttered. If it wasn't for my supernatural durability, I'd be dead right now, smeared all over the rooftop. Instead I was down here.

I looked around, wincing as my neck clicked. I was all right. If you discount that I felt like a giant bruise. Again.

My surroundings were dark, something I solved by calling a ball of eldrich light to float above my head. Huh. Tiled floor, empty hallway, and a row of lockers down the corridor. Going by just that, I could be anywhere. From a military base, to hospital, factory or even school. Though the fact that there were no alarms or cries of distress, first couple of options were likely to be out. I stood up, groaning. I extended my senses, both arcane and technological, trying to figure out where was I. Huh. There was the tiniest spark of magic coming from the lockers.

 **Part 3: Shattered skies**

 **=TM=**

 **22:43, January 11, 2011**

 **Winswol High School**

 **Brockton Bay**

I don't believe in coincidences. Ending in a building containing something magical after the accident that brought me here, no matter where here was, made me wary. So the first thing I did was to manifest my dual shields, both the tech one and the arcane. Next on the list was accessing my storage pocket dimension. All it took was tapping one of the crystals embedded in my left glove and feeding it a bit of energy with particular frequency. Plus the mental component that made magic do what you wanted. The space over my left shoulder warped and my multipurpose drone was there, hovering on its anti-gravity drive.

"What's up, boss?" the Ana, it's AI asked.

"Get me a broadband scan on the area and tap any wireless networks and comm channels you can. I want to know where we are."

"On it."

Her sensors lit up, their energy washing over my arcane senses. While she was doing as instructed, my attention was focused on the locker in question. A simple spell later and I got some more information, that made me frown. One human life sign, rapidly fading away. That and a lot of much smaller ones, probably insects. I strode towards the locker, dreading what I was going to find inside.

However that didn't stop me from scanning for traps or ambushes. This whole thing felt off.

"Well boss, what do you want first? The good news, the bad one or the worst?" Ana chirped. It wasn't in her usually cheerful tone either.

I felt a shiver of cold running up my spine.

"I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Nope. So what's going to be?"

"Give me the good news first. I think I'm going to need it."

"We are in the states."

"Eastern seaboard, a town near Boston, one I have no information about in my databanks."

I waited for the other shoe to drop. "The name of this mysterious town?"

"Brockton Bay."

"Bugger me sideways."

"You are not my type, boss."

"Cheeky brat. We are in deep this time if this is the same place I think it is." I muttered. Brockton Bay. Fucking Worm, and I thought that the DC universe was bad with all it's cosmic horrors. At least back there, well we had the people with enough raw power to stand up to almost anything that came at us. Not to mention that when the Heroes finally got their heads out of their collective posteriors, the world finally started becoming decent place. All it took was the latest alien invasion and few notable Villains going out of all bounds to cause trouble.

"So, a mostly empty building. One life sign in a locker. In Brockton Bay. Bloody hell, why do I always end in such situations?!"

"Boss, you aren't making much sense." The drone turned so its weapons were pointing my way. "You aren't going to go on the deep end again, right?"

"The local date." I bit off.

"January eleventh, 2011. 22:43. Huh. We are back in time, too."

"And few dimensions away."

"Is 911 still the emergency number here? If so patch me up."

"I'll need a bit to establish connection."

I headed for the lockers aware what I was going to find. I wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but finding myself here after the accident? It didn't pass my smell test. Was this what she meant that I might find redemption after what happened? A chance to save this hellhole of a world, to do a difference, after I almost caused the apocalypse?

I shook my head. That was food for later thought.

When I got near, the first thing that hit me was the smell. There was no way in Hell that it went unnoticed. Oh, I had much stronger senses than baseline human, but that stench? Anyone with working nose passing through here should have been nauseous. This was beyond simple negligence.

I frowned. As far as I was aware, Taylor didn't spent that much time in there. So I couldn't just assume that this was canon Worm. Lucky me. So my knowledge of the place was now suspect until proven otherwise. Joy.

Channeling my power through my left hand, I manifested five tendrils of purple energy and used them to rip off the locker's door. A small, filth covered body fell out and I caught it with my magic, gently laying it on the floor. My magelight was enough to see the mess.

Huh. She was shorter than I imagined, probably would barely reach my shoulders without heels. She was wearing jeans and dark green jumpers, which were torn in places and soaked with both blood and a lot of filth. She was covered with ripe filth from the crown of her shoulder length brown hair down to her shoes.

So, beyond the given mental trauma she was guaranteed to have a whole list of nasty infections too. But that wasn't what got my attention in the fist place. I could feel it clearly now. There was a spark of magic in this girl. It was draining off her, even faster than her life force. Which wasn't right.

Not knowing what was causing it I decided not to risk healing her with my power. Instead I placed a stasis field over her, freezing her as she was.

"Ana, now it would be good time for that call to go through."

"Yep. And I'm ready."

"911, what is the nature of your emergency?" a cool woman's voice sounded from the drone.

"I found an injured girl who needs immediate medical attention. I'm not sure of the location, some kind of school I think."

"Sir, I am tracing the call. Please give me more information."

"She is covered with infected wounds, mainly on her hands and legs. Someone apparently stuffed her in a locker filled with filth. Used female tampons and other assorted garbage. I have no idea how long she's been inside. I placed her in suspended animation until help could arrive."

There was a pause.

"Sir, are you a Cape?"

"Cape? You mean do I have powers, right? Then yes."

"That's fine." her voice became soothing. As if trying not to provoke the unknown meta human. "I'll inform the PRT immediately so they dispatch a team. I'm forwarding you to their line sir. It will be just a moment."

"The kid needs and ambulance first. I'm unsure how long I can keep her that way."

"I'll see what I can do." there was a digital tone and a new voice joined the conversation. "Hi. I'm Vista. What's the problem?" a young and full with energy voice sounded over the com. While the 911 operator filled her in, I wondered who in their right mind, let a kid, how old was he again, twelve or thirteen be on the hot line. Oh yeah. PR reps. I shook my head in exasperation.

"That's terrible." Vista muttered.

I could hear her taking a deep breath before remembering her training. At least I hope she had received some.

"Can you tell me how you found her? And if it's not terribly imposing please tell my your name. Oh. Your Cape name I mean!" She stammered the last sentence in super speed.

"Ah. I suffered an accident while working on a teleportation array. The next thing I knew I was on the floor after apparently crashing through the roof of this building." I smiled sheepishly though I knew she couldn't see me.

"Then what happened?"

"I used my sensors to try figuring out where I was, when I detected a human life sign."

"I see. We traced your location to the Wilswol High School. Police and ambulance are on the way as well as PRT team. The first responders should arrive in few minutes. Please could you stay on the line until then?" Vista asked.

"Sure. I'll need to keep her in stasis anyway. She's in a bad way."

I glanced at Ana. "Your job I gather?" I asked, sub-vocalizing.

"Yeah. I made sure that they could trace the call. That was your intent, right?"

"Indeed. You are getting better at it."

The drone bounced a few times in the air showing her excitement.

"Is your Cape identity too much to ask?" Vista's voice chirped over the speakers. Ah to be so young and full with energy.

"That's the second time one of you ladies mentioned Capes in respect of super powered humans. What's with that term? Last I checked everyone was still using metahumans." I played dumb. This wasn't either the time or place to show that I was familiar with the setting. Plus being truthful about my origins… It opened some possibilities. And problems depending how Cauldron would react upon learning about me.

I shrugged. It wasn't like I intended to lay low.

My only answer was eloquent silence from the other side of the line.

"You are pulling my chain, right?" Vista groused.

"Nope. I have no idea what Capes are. Where I'm from, that's not how metahumans are called."

"Oh, my. You aren't joking are you? I'm redirecting additional Protectorate personnel to your position. She'll explain. Eta about fifteen to twenty minutes."

"I'll be here, waiting."

 **=TM=**

 **23:05, January 11, 2011**

 **Winswol High School**

 **Brockton Bay**

First to arrive was a pair of cops, who wore uniforms not dissimilar from what I was familiar back from my original world. It was a far cry from the gear that I knew from my home for the last few years. No carapace armor or bulky energy weapons, nor the high tech gadgets that were a standard kit for even the rank and file. Just what you'd expect from normal cops. Uniform, with flimsy looking bulletproof vests on tops. Holstered guns, batons, cuffs and radios. One of them had a taser too. Nothing out of the ordinary. And nothing that could even slow down most metahumans.

That probably explained the wary looks they were giving me, or the way the younger one was glancing at my drone. Well, Ana's guns probably had something to do with that.

"I would like to say that it's a good to see you, but considering the circumstances..." I nodded at the girl who most likely was Taylor.

The senior, who was in his mid forties and had sergeant stripes on his uniform gave me a sharp nod and looked at the girl.

"What the hell happened in here? And what's with the shimmering?"

"That's something I would like to know too." I muttered. "I've put her in stasis so she won't get worse before the medics arrive."

"That's useful." said the sergeant. He glanced at the locker's door. "Your work?"

I shrugged. "It was in the way."

"I haven't seen you on the news. You a new Cape?"

"New around here it seems."

What followed was typical, even if the procedures were a bit different from what I was accustomed to. They took my my statement while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. Soon enough, the girl, who might or might not be Taylor,(there was no name on the locker's door and considering the filth that was inside I wasn't inclined to check for a name tag or something else in there), was in the hands of the local paramedics. Which left me staring at a squad of armored troopers, armed with assault rifles and SMG's. The PRT's first response team, who were eying me warily. At least I thought so. It was hard to tell thanks to their fully enclosed helmets. It was good to see that someone around here was acting professional. It raised a bit my hopes for this world.

There was no posturing or anything that might provoke a reasonable new cape. Then again, they weren't Armsmaster. Meeting the Tinker would be interesting. Or pain in the ass. Though he wasn't the one we were waiting for. Vista said that a woman was on the way. That was a limited pool as far as my prior knowledge went. Velocity, Battery and Miss Militia were the only female Protectorate members in this town. I think.

That particular question was answered couple of minutes later when a woman clad in military fatigues strode in. She had the US flag as a scarf over the lower part of her face, leaving only her eyes and cheekbones to be seen.

She glanced at the mess that was the locker and her eyes narrowed with disgust. Then Miss Militia turned her attention to me.

 **=TM=**

 **Part 4**

 **01:27, January 12, 2011**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"That's a bold claim, Mr. Veil." the Director of the local Protectorate's branch glared at me.

As if it was my fault I ended up here. Oops. It actually was. I shrugged.

"What can I say? I probably zigged when I had to go zag during one of my experiments."

Ana turned her body so her main camera was starring at me. "You weren't supposed to do those experiments without supervision."

Great. Now she was glaring at me too. This wasn't one of my finest days. I wondered why the hell I got out of bed this morning.

"Yes, that too." she pointed at Ana's body. "You have a drone armed with military grade weaponry and controlled by an AI."

"Hey! He does not own me!" Ana exclaimed.

"What she said. While I created her, she is her own person with all rights as per the Sentient Rights Convention. Though considering that we are not in out own dimension I don't know how much weight that has."

"Director, let's not antagonize the heavily armed AI in the room." Miss Militia's eyes crinked in a smile.

"Do you have any way to prove you aren't just a Tinker with fancy tech and delusions?" Piggot asked and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Dunno. Does the few hundred petabytes of information about our world in Ana's databanks constitute proof?"

"Ah. That might work."

"Fine. But you aren't getting any sensitive data from me!" the AI huffed, her body wobbing in the air.

"That's all right, hon." Miss Militia beamed.

"That leaves the obvious question. What are we going to do about you two?" Piggot gave us a tired look.

"I've thought about that. If I'm to have any chance of locating our dimension, much less creating a safe way to go back, I'll need resources and a lab."

"Careful and close supervision too. I don't want a repeat of the New York incident."

"That wasn't my fault."

"Do I want to know?" Piggot groaned.

"NO!" I shouted.

"Yes." Ana added her two cents.

"Traitor." I muttered.

I swear to god she started to float smugly.

"An experiment to harness zero point energy went out of control." Ana started.

"Just a little. And it was promptly contained, no thanks to Luthor's damn saboteurs." I added.

"It wiped everything in five mile radius!"

"As I said it was contained."

"No experiments without adult supervision." Piggot growled while Miss Militia was nodding emphatically.

"Tyrants. All of you."

"With that out of the way, I would like to extend you and invitation to the Protectorate's ranks. We can always use more Capes and as a Tinker, your could make some useful contributions. Not to mention that we will provide you with a lab, resources and monthly stipend."

"I've heard that term used before by you people. What exactly is a Tinker?"

"A parahuman with the power to build advanced technology. Usually their creations are one offs and very hard to reproduce or maintain."

"I see." I smiled. "Then I'm not a Tinker in your jargon. I'm a scientist and engineer. Our tech," I waved at Ana, "can be readily mass produced given the necessary industrial base."

Piggot's eyes widened at my declaration.

"That's interesting." the Director was unable to hide the gleam in her eyes. "I would like a demonstration," she looked at her watch. "But that can wait. Would you like to join the Protectorate?"

"What exactly will be my duties and responsibilities? What restrictions would be imposed upon us?"

"How much are we getting paid? My body is high maintenance." Ana quipped.

"The pay is decent." Miss Militia said.

"However there are few points that might be problematic. We usually don't let our members run around with military grade weaponry. Not to mention AI's."

"That's not an issue. I have a diversive non lethal arsenal! Anything from sound based up through microwave and low intensity taser! However, what about me being an AI is concerning you?"

"You are an out of context problem. At the moment we don't have laws governing the use or potential rights of AI's." Piggot mussed.

"Do you even have any operational?" I asked.

"As far as I know, none." Piggot stated.

"Well that might be a problem. Ana is a person, not a thing. If you someone wants her, they will have to go through me first." I glared at my hosts.

"I'll make some calls and see what we can do."

"As long as Ana is treated as a human. So, about those duties?"

"I'll let Miss Militia brief you. She can do it while arranging a place for you two to stay." Piggot stood up and headed towards the exit.

"So where am I supposed to crash for the night? It's been a long day and I could use a nap."

"Probably in one of the free apartments on base. We'll see about tomorrow. Or I can book you in a hotel, though I have to advise against that option. Unless Ana makes herself much less conspicuous, anyone who sees you would take you for a tinker. Before the sun rises the local gangs will know that there is a new tinker in town and start planning your forceful recruitment."

"Let them come!" Ana shook with anticipation.

"Once you are part of the Protectorate, that won't be an issue. Until then, you will be vulnerable."

"Thanks for the advise. While I believe we can handle ourselves..."

"Damn right!"

"Let's avoid entanglements with the local low life for now. So how is being a Hero around here?"

Miss Militia smiled and started filling me in while we walked towards the barracks.

 **=TM=**

 **Part 5: Origins I**

 **=TM=**

 **12:19, December 11, 2015**

 **Metropolis**

 **DC Earth**

Couple of days. That's how long I've been here. A world of Super Heroes and Villains. The home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman among many others.

A world that should have been confined to harmless comics and movies, damn it! Instead it was real. I could feel it, touch it, taste it. Any hope I had that it was all a feverish, in ordinary realistic dream, was now gone. Not after two days. Not after I fought my way out of that accursed space ship and barely made my way out before it was destroyed.

All thanks to Wonder Woman no less. Also known as Diana, the Amazon Princess. The lass who saved my bacon and recruited me.

Ah, yeah. About that… As it turned out I'm a Mage. Yeah. Magic is real here too. So I got volunteered to be apprentice under Diana's supervision. Let me tell you, when a warrior princes who just wiped the floor with nearly a battalion of killer robots tells you to be her disciple, you smile, nod and go away for the ride.

What followed was brief explanation on arcane theory, some pointers on how to access my powers at will and you guessed it. I got my first mission. Which was a bloody mess of epic proportions. I only survived thanks to my unnatural durability. Had to help a local Mage, one Zatanna, stop Faust. Yeah, that Faust, deal with demons, sold his soul etc… At least the gal I helped was easy on the eyes with a quite fetching costume too.

In the end we somehow stopped Faust. Don't ask me for a detailed account. All I remember is flashes. Using my new found magic to stun and weaken enemies so we could pound them into the ground, destroying soul binding containers to release the captives… And the final confrontation with Faust. That was a whirlwind.

And I got a minion. Yes. You heard me right. A minion summoned from who knows where. A short, spiky bugger who was made off some kind of living rock. Useful too, not like the usual movie minions.

But I digress. That was all yesterday evening. After some well deserved rest, I was conscripted into your standard suicide mission. Go forth and stop Trigon. Yeah that Trigon. The bloody Daemon Lord that wants to bring hell on earth.

Why me, you ask? Because all real heroes are too busy dealing with the alien invasion. Besides I was a mage, so I was apparently qualified to deal with this mess. Lucky me.

So that's how I found myself at the front gates of the Science Police's Eight Precinct, after flying over a half destroyed part of Chinatown. During my flight I saw both police and national guard ducking it out with pockets of killer robots. In the skies above fighters were dueling for air superiority with their alien counterpart all the while the occasional bomber wing from either side managed to raid the city, striking targets of opportunity. Naturally half the villains decided that this was a great time to play too. Though I had to admit that some of them were actually more helpful than harmful during the invasion.

Well, the time for idle thoughts was over. I landed in front of the science police building. What can I say about it? It had multiple wings, looked impressive and it was under siege. There were a pair of police cruisers blocking the main entrance, which were used by a squad of heavily armed and armored officers as cover. They were taking potshots at the madhouse that was the Precinct courtyard.

I ducked next to the Sigma operatives (as the science police members were generally known around here), avoiding a purple blast of energy.

"What's the situation?"

"God damned mess!" a man with sergeant's stripes on his shoulders grumbled before popping out of his cover and sending a burst of laser fire downrange before ducking back.

"I can see that." I deadpanned.

He glanced my way.

"You new? Do you have any idea what are you doing kid? We've had a bunch of newbies popping around ever since that maniac appeared in orbit. Most of them have no idea what they are doing or how to really use their powers."

"Nope. But I'm apparently all the backup you are getting."

"Murphy at his best. It has to be!" one of the Sigmas quipped.

"I'm intimately familiar with the notion." I muttered.

"What's the plan?"

"We need to secure the courtyard. There are pockets of our people there under siege, some of them medics."

"I'll see what I can do. Give me some cover fire."

The first thing I did was to summon Spikey, my minion. He appeared in a burst of purple flames and almost got shot.

"Fuck! What's that?" exclaimed one of the officers, a young kid probably just out of the academy.

"What? I'm at least not ugly like some people I can mention!" Spikey grumbled.

Did I mention that the lovable little ball of mayhem was sentient too?

He jumped on the nearest cruiser and looked around.

"Boss, you are great! You bring me to the nicest of places! I want to punch something!"

"Knock yourself out." I waved at the horn covered daemons rampaging around the courtyard.

Spikey roared and charged in the fray.

"Where did you found him and can I get one too?" asked the sergeant.

I'm surrounded by maniacs, I tell ya.

"About that covering fire. Now it would be a good time." I called my power and used it to form shields around myself and the Sigmas. Then I did something quite stupid. I followed Spikey in the melee, blasting any of the monstrosities that came into range. At least I was finally getting the hang of using my handblasters.

 **=TM=**

It actually worked. With most of the daemons concentrating their attention on Spikey and me, the Sigmas rallied and counterattacked, shooting the bastards to pieces. Even better, my shields actually held if barely.

In other words I got lucky not to get my stupid head blasted away or my entrails gutted. And I was barely trembling. That only goes on to tell you how crazy the wast couple of days have been.

The Sergeant, one Jacob Mills, turned out to be the highest ranking Sigma operative on the scene. He wasted no time and started organizing his people.

"OK, folks. This is what we are going to do. Jefferson and Mikels. Get your squads and cover the medics. I want all wounded evacuated yesterday. The rest of you, check your ammo and gear. We are going in and securing our god damned Precinct! Is that clear!" He turned his attention to me. "Not bad for a rookie. Though don't go out doing such stunts again unless you are mini Superman. That was a great way to get yourself killed, though I can't really argue with results."

"I noticed, believe me." At least the trembling was dying down.

"Now, I want you to do it again." Mills grinned at me.

"What am I? A live meat shield?"

"It works." he shrugged.

"I'm starting to hate you."

"I'm sergeant. That's part of the job description."

"Is everyone on this world mental or something?"

"Beat's me boss. I'm not from around here as you very well know."

"I actually don't. Where are you from Spikey?"

"Your loss, meatbag."

"Cheeky bastard."

"And I'm proud of it. Mum was a volcano. No idea who dad was."

"I'm surrounded by clowns."

"We are breaching in five. As per the last report we got, the lobby has been overrun and we lost contact with the garage few minutes before you showed up."

"Which way are we going?"

"Hudson here and his team are going to lead a spoiling attack on the Lobby, while we storm through the garage."

A bulky man who looked like a tiny Space Marine in his armor nodded and waved a five man team to follow him.

"You ready?" Mills asked me.

"Hell no. But I'm coming anyway."

"That's the spirit."

 **=TM=**

Getting into the garage proved to be harder than anticipated. None of the officers on scene had breaching charges and the place was build to withstand a siege. In the end it was up to me to make an entrance.

"Here goes nothing." I concentrated the way Diana showed me and connected deeply with my magic. I could feel it more acutely than ever. Not that was saying something considering that I've had it for less than two days.

It felt like boundless well, waiting to be tamed. I felt that it wanted to be used, not to just lay dormant. Almost as if it was alive, waiting. I took a deep breath and tugged it, making it pour slowly into my veins. I could feel myself getting stronger. My senses sharpened and the world around slowed down.

The magic was surrounding me, pillable, ready to be directed. I wanted, I needed to make a way. To open a breach so we can retake the building. My magic responded, purple tentacles forming around my hands. They slashed this way and that before calming and gently swaying in the air.

It was freaky. I could feel them as if they were another pair of arms. It took me a bit of trial and error but it turned out I could use them almost as well as my own hands. I smiled and grabbed the armored shutters that were sealing the garage. The tentacles actually pierced the metal and I pulled up, barely feeling the strain as the shutters moved up with and awful grinding sound.

Mills threw a flash-bang into the opening. Moments later just as it exploded, he charged into the breach, with the rest of the Sigmas hot on his heels.

 **=TM=**

 **Part 6: Origins II**

 **12:47, December 11, 2015**

 **Science Police Eight Prescint**

 **Metropolis**

 **DC Earth**

To our pleasant surprise, the garage hadn't fallen yet. There was a cluster of Sigmas using a SWAT van and the weaponry it contained to make a strong point and keep the daemons away. However, that hadn't helped much for the mechanics who were in the garage when the assault began. Their ripped corpses laid all over the floor. Mostly in bloody chunks of barely recognizable meat. So much for this being like any DC comics I've read. Damn it!

Our counterattack caught the daemons in the garage by surprise. Who knew, flash bangs were effective against the ugly buggers. Which meant that the Sigmas had a swell time shooting up the bastards while they were disoriented.

We found the first still alive officer in there too. A Lt in his mid thirties was a part of the men taking cover near the SWAT van. He was in a bad way, a magic beam had ripped his left shoulder and some kind of miasma was spreading through his veins, slowly killing him. By the time we secured the garage, he was already delirious.

"Damn it. I liked that kid. Is there something you can do for him?" Mills asked once he was apprised of the situation.

While we were talking, Sigmas were staging ready to breach the doors leading deeper in the building. Now they had breaching charges after looting what was left in the SWAT van.

"I have no idea." I shrugged and went to check up on the man. Diana didn't have the time to tutor me on healing with my power but she mentioned that it was indeed possible to do so. Magic was supposedly versatile like that. In other words it was a bullshit, grab bag kind of power. With my luck it had a lot of nasty draw backs and strings attached.

I had no idea at the time how right that thought was.

Linda Flores, the Lt in question was a small woman with shoulder length curly, brown hair. Probably was quite beatufull too before being hit with that magic. Right now she looked like a corpse warmed twice over and getting worse by the minute. Her shoulder and right arm were a lost cause, the virulent magic was on its way of disollving them. The bandage and whatever meds the Sigma's had tried on her apparently had no effect. I frowned. That was a nasty way to go.

I placed a hand on her chest and closed my eyes. I could barely sense the magic ravaging her. It had foul, unpleasant stentch. Yet, it was somehow familiar. As if I've felt it before. I shrugged. Probably it was all those blasts that hit my shield while we were retaking the courtyard, though I though that they were more akin to an ordinary energy weapons than whatever did this.

Which was all irrelevant right now. The simple truth was that I didn't know enough to help Fores. I couldn't simply create a spell on the fly, could I? But perhaps I didn't need to. Besides unless I did something she was going to be dead before help could arrive.

So I decided to brute force it. Concentrating on my magic, I started channeling it through my hand straight into her chest. The Lt gasped and started feebly struggling. My magic and whatever was in the woman, touched each other and she shrieked. I could feel the two energies fighting each other so I poured even more of my power in the woman. She screamed as the energies fought within her. The dark miasma halted its spread but refused to yield even a millimeter of ground.

I groaned with the strain of channeling so much magic, yet I refused to let it go. My body felt on fire, as if a ravenous furnace was attempting to consume me from the inside. It got worse, of course. The pain hit me, it was like countless white hot knives were coursing through my veins, cutting and searing everything in their path. I screamed amidst the pain, agony searing my lungs. It was during that self inflicted torture, when something changed. There was a shift in the feel of my magic, one I could acutely feel even with all my nerves on fire. My power, it became hotter than freshly spilled magma, yet it cooled my veins as it flowed through me. I tasted a bit of ashes and something else, spicy and pleasant. It felt just like home…

Linda shrieked as my altered magic slammed into her, petite body thrashing on the ground. The supernatural sickness consuming her recoiled. It tired to avoid my magic to no avail. It was washed away by a torrent of liquid fire, leaving healthy flesh behind. Flores moaned and fell back like a puppet with slashed strings. The ruin of her shoulder healed before my eyes, but the new flesh was wrong. It was dark red, almost black, resembling long dried blood instead of healthy human skin.

"Well, that's new..." Mills muttered over my shoulder.

I looked at him and saw that we were surrounded by a semi circle of troubled looking Sigmas. Half of them were fingering their weapons and glancing warily at me.

"She'll live. I think." my words were barely a whisper. My throat was raw and felt like parchment.

"Hmm… For a moment there it looked like neither of you were going to make it."

"Believe me, it felt worse on my way." I rasped.

Then everything went strange once we reached the command center. Long story short, I ended in Raven's mind, fighting for her soul. Yeah. Only in the DC universe. Come, see the sights, die horribly and possibly lose your soul in the bargain…

The representation of her mind was creepy. As its basis it used a high tech lab… Complete with tumorous growth and slimy tentacles. Did I mention the creepy tentacles? There were multiple versions of Raven running around, generally minding their own business, though all that was a sideshow. In the right corner of the room I saw him.

Trigon himself. In here he didn't look all that impressive. Twice my size, bare chested man. With red skin and looks of a Greek god if you discount the horns. It was what you'd expect a hot demon lord to look like according to a teenage girl's imagination. Which fit considering where I found myself.

"Mortal. Come bow before me!" sneered the demon.

"That's it? Really?" I shook my head in exasperation. That was supposed to be a real live Daemon Lord. Not a living, breathing cliche!


	2. Chapter 1 Parts 1&2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 1: The tricks of the trade**

 **Part 1**

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **04: 15, January 12, 2011**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

Miss Militia leaned back in her chair, staring at the monitor in front of her. She was writing her report on the new Cape, who apparently fell through the sky. Literally. The Heroine closed her eyes remembering how he met the Protectorate's newest person of interest.

When she first entered the school, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. If you discount the police cars, ambulance and a PRT van parked in the front. A cop led her within the building and guided her to a long corridor which had a wall hidden by a row of lockers.

Her nose crinked as she approached. Even from the far end of the corridor, the stench of decay was nauseating.

A group of officers were hovering near a pair of paramedics who had their gear strewn open on the ground. Nearby, a squad of PRT troopers in full gear were looking at a man in what appeared to be a hooded tinkertech costume and a large drone that hovered behind his right shoulder. So that was the mysterious Cape she was sent to talk with

Miss Militia glanced at the victim on whom the paramedics were working on and frowned. The girl couldn't be older than fifteen. She was covered in filth, bruises and lacerations. The heroine didn't need her experience to tell her how bad it was. Potential trigger event even, which would be relevant if the girl recovered.

She shook her head at the aftermath of the latest crime she had to witness and returned her attention to the reason she was called in.

He had turned his head towards her and was obviously studying her from under his hood.

"Hi!" She waved nonchalantly, smiling under her scarf.

"Hi yourself." The man greeted calmly in a deep baritone.

"HI!" The drone chirped a moment latter, slowly bobbing in the air.

"I'm Miss Militia. Welcome to Brocton Bay."

"Delkatar Veil. This is Ana." He nodded at the drone, which started bobbing even more energetically, making the impression of an overly eager puppy.

She frowned. While the name was strange, it didn't feel like a Cape's identity. Which if true, could be problematic. Did this man know of the rules and if he did, did he care?

"If it isn't too much to ask, how did you end up here?" She waved at the corridor.

"Ah. That." He rubbed the back of his head through the hood. She could see the lower part of his face twisting in what suspiciously looked like an embarrassment.

"That was an accident. I was working on my latest project when there was a mishap and I found myself falling through the ceiling of this school."

Tinkers. Miss Militia suppressed the desire to shake her head at him. Armsy and Kid Win were bad enough. She was not going to get riled up over this new Cape. Nope.

"This things happen." She shrugged nonchalantly. Boy did they ever, when you got overeager tinkers playing without supervision. "You are a new Cape I take it?"

"That again? What's with calling metahumans Capes around here?!" He shook his head in exasperation. "I've had my powers for years. It's not like I've been living under a rock or something."

That was either concerning or commendable. Usually tinkers did something to reveal themselves soon after getting their powers. They were obsessed with obtaining resources so they could build things. To be able to keep under the radar for years… Then her mid caught up to what he said first.

"Metahumans?"

"People with powers." He said with a deadpan voice. "I've heard us called a lot of things, but Capes is new." His tone of voice hinted that most of those things weren't particularly flattering. Not that she disagreed. Capes or that term he used were much nicer that some of the alternatives.

Miss Militia's frown deepened. There was something off about the situation. She didn't fell threatened or something. It was just odd, the way this Cape was talking. She felt as if she was missing something.

"So how long have you been around Brockton Bay?"

"So that's what the BB PD is for?" He nodded at the police officers. "I never heard of this place before. I was in my lab near New York before ending up here."

Ah. So Veil was Legend's problem once he was back on his way home. Good to know.

"Once this is sorted out," She nodded at the injured girl, "you must be eager to get back."

"That's true. Preferably before Diana decides to ground me for working on the array without supervision."

"Whose Diana?" Miss Militia asked automatically.

"Wonder Woman." He clarified.

"Never heard of her."

He tilted his head to the side, studying her as she was some strange specimen.

"You haven't heard of one of the founders of the League?" He asked in a deadpan voice. "Pull the other one."

Yeah, now she recognized the feeling. They obviously weren't on the same page.

"Uh, boss. I've been browsing the local network." The Drone spoke, getting everyone's attention. "I don't think we are home."

"Fuck. Not again, damn it! Diana will kill me!"

Yep, definitely no on the same page. This was going to be one long night, she knew it.

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **12: 03, January 12, 2011**

 **Cafeteria**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

A few hours of sleep and a bit of meditation, while Ana was hovering protectively behind my shoulder and I was feeling reasonably good. While I was napping, my companion had released a lot of mostly harmless information to the locals. Nothing you couldn't find free on the net, so no worries there.

While their analytics were browsing the data, I found myself in the cafeteria, freeloading a lunch, because there was apparently sufficient subtle difference in the currencies of the two United States I've been with to make the cash I had on my person rather useless here. On the bright side, baring a few sidelong glances, mostly fixed on Ana, I was left pretty much alone. Until Miss Militia appeared and sat on the other side of the table. She had a bottle of juice of a brand I was unfamiliar with and was drinking through a straw which allowed her to continue keeping most of her face hidden.

I finished chewing a potato and swallowed before greeting her.

"So is the jury out?"

"I just spoke with the Director. She wants a demonstration of your abilities and tech before you can join the Protectorate."

"Well, I don't have anything better to do until I find a way home." I shrugged. "There are some non-lethal weapons that would do nicely." I nodded at Ana.

"Wayne Enterprises Sonic pistols and LuxCorp microwave stunners. Those should be reasonably easy to produce and quite effective against most parahumans." Ana chirped.

"That will be useful. We are always looking for more effective methods of non-lethal take-downs." Miss Militia's eyes crinked in a smile. "What other powers you have? The first responders gave quite interesting report." She asked innocently.

Oh, this was going to be fun, especially once Armsmaster got on the show.

"Well, while I'm fascinated with all the high end tech I have access to and I've been studying lately, that's not what my powers are about." Well, besides a few very useful enhancements that increased my intelligence to the level I could actually fiddle with the advanced tech of the DC verse without blowing myself up. Usually.

"Really? You didn't mention that last night." She gave me an accusing look.

"You are the ones who assumed that all I could do was based on technology like Ana. I'm a wizard." I smiled at the heroine who gave me a deadpan look.

"I've heard that before." She sounded disgruntled.

I put my fork down and accessed my magical powers, molding them with my mind. A quiet incantation later and flash of purple light later, a tiny white kitten materialized on the table between us. The little bugger looked around and turned its head towards Miss Militia.

"Meow?"

 **=TM=**

 **Part 2**

* * *

 **12: 32, January 12, 2011**

 **Tinker facilities**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"No dissecting the kitten!" Miss Militia snapped at Armsmaster, who was studying the projection of a Sonic Pistol's schematics courtesy of Ana. The heroine was holding the cat I summoned during lunch close to her chest and was petting the purring furball while glaring at her nominal superior. Who knew she was apparently a cat person.

"I'll have to agree with Miss Militia. I didn't summon the kitten just so you can cut it open." That was no way to threat one's summons. They didn't exactly came from thin air after all. "Can you build it with off the shelf components or would it require custom work?" I turned my attention to the armored man and changed the topic.

"I'll have to build a few of the components but it should be doable with what I have at my lab." Armsmaster said after tapping the harmonic stabilizer and the resonance chamber on the hard-light schematics.

"Good, that's one issue down. So when I'm supposed to be showing off?"

"There are testing facilities in the basement. We are just waiting for couple of scientists to arrive from the Rig." Miss Militia removed her attention from the purring beast she was hugging and nodded at the floor.

"Good. Can we disperse with this magic sham? Most if not all powers can be explained as clarcetech anyway." Armsmaster grunted.

"Hey, personally I agree. I've been trying to explain magic with scientific terms and theories for years but no luck so far." I shrugged. At least I made a few breakthroughs that allowed me to create some neat stuff and a large increase of my bank account.

"Then why are you calling yourself a wizard?"

"Because I am one? I manipulate energy by structured means that can be called spells. I call that energy magic. Will it change if I call that energy by another name? It doesn't exactly fit with the recognized energy types from the place I came and there are a lot of them." I shrugged.

"Unreliable scientific methods or shoddy equipment. Got to be." Armsmaster nodded sagely earning a glare from me.

For years I had the best equipment money could buy and I was careful when testing my theories on the nature of magic just to be sure that I did it right. Well, to avoid unpleasant and embarrassing incidents too. There were those couple of times that never should be spoken of again…

Ana just hummed to herself, not taking part in the discussion, the little traitor.

"Armsmaster..." Miss Militia trailed off in exasperation.

"What? You don't believe that he is a wizard either! At least Myrddin hasn't heard of him yet." The hero grumbled.

"Yeah." She glanced at me. "That would be interesting."

"So you have someone calling himself Merlin? Is he the real deal?"

Armsmaster snorted in derision and I felt like turning him into something slimy just to prove a point.

"You two, behave!" Miss Militia grumbled.

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **12: 46, January 12, 2011**

 **Tinker facilities**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"That actually stung." I muttered after the testing machine managed to break my skin.

"So you are a bit bulletproof?" Miss Militia muttered.

"If I'm not using a defensive spell or wearing armor." I nodded. The ability to channel magic had made me tougher so my body could withstand the energies I could wield. Which meant that nothing less than 9 mm AP rounds would do the job. That said, even bullets that didn't penetrate left smarting bruises, though I did handle blunt trauma better than piecing or lacerating.

In my fully human form anyway.

"So Brute two, perhaps three?" Doctor Springfield, the lead of my power testing team asked. He was a middle aged man with a short, receding brown hair. His blue eyes were focused on the tablet in his hands and he was typing something on it.

"If I understand your specification correctly, that sounds about right."

"What about when you are using your powers to protect yourself?"

"That entirely depend on the type of attack I have to deal with." I shrugged, trying no to thing about some of the more unpleasant situations I've been in. Especially when the time spend _there_ was concerned. That was pure hell.

"Can we test that?" The Doc asked hopefully, while looking at Miss Militia.

"She shot me enough times today." I shook my head.

"I can do it all day!" She chirped.

"Quiet you. Or I'll send the furball home."

"You wouldn't dare!" Miss Militia glared at me, while hugging the sleepy kitten in her hands.

Summoning the damn critter might not have been the best idea. I decided not to mention that the spell would wear off in a few hours and the cat would be back whatever it came from.

I planned to be far away from Miss Militia by then. Or to just summon an identical kitten when she wasn't looking or holding it.

Because I really didn't feel like dodging and tanking rockets today.

"Spoilsport." Springfield grunted.

"What's next?" I asked.

"Well, if you really don't want to be shot again..." Springfield smirked and waved us to follow into the next room.

That was a gym which was padded from top to bottom. On the right side there were ropes hanging from the ceiling and a obstacle course on the left. There was a treadmill connected to a desk with a computer next to the wall across the door.

"It's time to check you mover ranking."

"I don't feel like running. Flight and teleportation to places I've previously been. That enough?"

"We'll need a bit more."

A mental command and I was floating a few paces above the floor. "I can hit supersonic during flight as well as transport two people during teleportaion." It took a few years of training and experimentation until I hit that point, though once that was out of the way, it greatly simplified my travel arrangements. I conveniently forgot to mention my third way of travel. A wizard must have his secrets after all.

"Hmm… Mover five? What's the teleporation range?"

"It depends on my power reserves. It usually isn't too taxing to bring a pair of people across the continent and fight afterward, but I wouldn't be doing it more than once if I expect trouble. I can use it more easily at shorter distances." Though often it was better to use the energy needed for direct or indirect attacks.

"What about running?" Springfield glanced lovingly at the treadmill.

"Better endurance, aside of that nothing exceptional for a man of my build and age. You just want to hook me up to more testing equipment, aren't you?" I glared at the man.

"It's in the name of science! You can never have enough test data!"

People like him were giving the rest of us bad names. Well, most of the mad scientists too, but I digress.

"So teleportation?" Springfield asked.

I concentrated, calling up raw magical energy until it enveloped me with purple strings, concentrated on the far side of the room, just above the end of the obstacle course and chanted the necessary incantation while directing the power surrounding me. A flash of purple followed. For a moment I was in an empty abyss before reappearing at the desired position.

"Hmm… It takes a bit of time to build up for the transport. So Mover Five or Six I think, if you are correct about the range."

"I haven't been to this world before, so I'm not going to risk getting to places I haven't seen with my own eyes. Mistakes can be quite unpleasant." I muttered, absently rubbing my left arm just below the elbow. Regrowing it thanks to a ton of unpleasant and a few downright disgusting potions wasn't fun at all. The feeling of my hand slowly disintegrating during that botched teleport was still fresh in my mind even all those years ago. It rivaled the time spent in _that_ place.

"You know that from experience." Miss Militia state. She obviously saw something on my face.

I should have kept my hood up.

"Indeed. It isn't something I recommend. What's next?"

"The really fun part!" Springfield grinned like a kid who was told that Christmas came early this year.

 **=TM=**

* * *

Armsmaster, who we left in the Tinker's heaven upstairs actually came to see me demonstrate actual magic. As if my flight and teleporation were something else. What was with scientists all over most dimensions, that made most of them refuse to believe that magic could be as real as any other thing they studies?!

"This is where we execute the really fun tests!" Springfield's voice came over a loudspeaker built into the walls, somewhere under the tinker tech metals lining them up. Not to mention the force-field generators that provided additional protection for the room itself.

The place shaped like the upper half of an egg and had rolls with sheets made of different materials. Ideal for blaster or shaker testing to see if a particular power could influence them.

"We are ready. Start when you are prepared." Miss Militia said over the intercom.

I shrugged and raised my right hand towards a slab of steel, before channeling a bit of magic through it. A beam of arcane energy left my palm and drilled a fist sized hole into the metal. A great thing about my brand of magic was the control over one's abilities it provided. Take the attack I gust used for example. It could be used to simply knock out an ordinary human, or drill through the armor of a main battle tank depending of how much energy I channeled through the blast.

And that was just the direct application of magical energy.

"Is this all you can do?" Armsmaster grunted, obviously not impressed.

I glared at the armored slit where the control room for this testing chamber was located. While I had no intention to show much of what I could do with magic, I really didn't like when someone made fun of my abilities. Most of them were actually learned damn it, not just acquired by a cosmic chance! Diana put me through a god damned hell for years before she declared me a half decent mage!

So I channeled more power in the same type of attack and cut through the steel slab as if it was made from butter, burning a gash through the concrete one behind. Then I summoned my first ever familiar, Spiky, who looked around, his rock body pulsing with energy.

"Have fun." I grinned and pointed at a roll of so far unscratched slabs made of different materials.

Spiky gave a joyish screech and jumped at the designated targets. The little munchkin loved to bash up things. And eat various types of rocks or concrete but that's another story.

While we were cheerfully destroying the room I wondered how much about my healing abilities and battlefield control I should reveal.

I grinned, for all it's raw power, what really made magic dangerous in the hands of a trained wizard was the versatility it provided.


	3. Chapter 1 Parts 3&4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 1: The tricks of the trade**

 **Part 3**

* * *

 **17: 29, January 12, 2011**

 **Director Piggot's Office**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

For a moment Director Piggot contemplated implementing Master/Stranger protocols. Then she glanced at the two Capes standing in her office and shook her head. Armsmaster was a bit more disgruntled than usual, but not uncommonly so. She had seen him much more riled up when dealing with Tinkers who offended his sensibilities one way or another.

That left Miss Militia. The woman was unable to sleep ever since she had gotten her powers all those years ago. One of her past times was reading. Another was raising cats, though her last bloody furry menace got fried the last time Lung was captured and managed to escape. Now, the fact that her newest pet was apparently created by the powers from the new Cape that fell from the sky was a bit disconcerting.

The Director sighed and looked at the printout of Veil's test results while her left hand "accidentally" pressed one of the buttons masked under her desk while massaging her knee. She sighed as the alarms blared, increasing her headache.

The heroes froze for a moment before looking around for a threat. This was going to be one long evening…

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **17: 31, January 12, 2011**

 **Cafeteria**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

I sipped from a mug with steaming coffee and looked around. The room was sealed about a minute or so ago, when the alarms went off. The few officer who were either eating or recharging their systems with caffeine, were giving me wary looks. Those of who were armed, had a hand on their handguns, while obviously wondering was I a threat.

"You know, I'm torn. Is this just a healthy paranoia or the powers that be got scared from my powers testing?" In hindsight I maybe should have failed to mention that I had spells that could bind a person to my will. Or perhaps it was my versatility that scared them. It's been a long time since I browsed anything Worm related but I don't think that they had many capes, if at all, who could be as versatile as my magic allowed me to be. Then there was Ana, the schematics she had in her database and whatever technological or arcane I could cludge with some time and resources.

On the other hand, I might be a bit arrogant. This alarm might have nothing to do with me. On the other hand I was a bloody wizard. A bit of arrogance comes with the territory.

Oh, okay. A lot of arrogance, but I digress.

I continued to sip my coffee while absentmindedly reading the Protectorate Parahuman Officers Manual, which contained the basic standards of behavior required from anyone that joined. There were no explosions or other sounds of attack, so either someone was being sneaky or the whole circus was for my benefit.

Or just a computer glitch.

"Ana?"

"Master/Stranger protocols are in effect. The building's network went into a lock-down a few seconds after the alarm sounded."

"So either someone is trying to be cute or the Director is scared that I mind-controlled her favorite metahumans. One way or the other this will lead me to deal with a lot of paperwork. I just know it."

"That's one of the downsides of being legit, boss." Ana bobbed. No sympathy from her corner. She was an AI. The only thing preventing her from dealing with her portion of the paperwork instantly was the speed of printers. Needless to say I wasn't so lucky.

"You don't look particularly bothered by this." One of the troopers who were locked up with us stated, while studying us in a rather familiar matter. I didn't need to be able to read minds to know that he was looking for weak points on Ana while wondering if he could shoot me before I did something nasty to him and his buddies.

"I'm a metahuman whose power allows him to control people among many, many other things. Do you really think that this is the first time the powers that be got concerned that I might have influenced government personnel? While understandable that kind of fear almost led to a fucking war where I came from. It wasn't fun. Luckily there were a bunch of crazy super villains doing shit at the time that got everyone's attention and bought us time to make a compromise most of us could live with." I shrugged. It was probably the only time the Joker and bunch of other fucks going off the rails could be considered a good thing. Which it was. After the dust settled, the survivors of that particular stunt all got kill orders which were executed within the following two weeks.

Let me tell you, most of Gotham was cheering when Joker's death was confirmed. However that's almost ancient history by this point.

The doors slid open with hydraulic hiss, revealing two squad of armor clad troopers. They spread into the cafeteria, covering everyone with their weapons. A pair of heroes strode behind the soldiers. One was female, short with brown hair tied up in a ponytail and a tiny mask covering her eyes. She was wearing a black, body hugging suit which had green electronic either built in or simply used as a decoration.

Next to her was a head taller man, clad in crimson armor.

"Ana, who are our visitors?"

"Assault and Battery. Local protectorate heroes. The woman is a moderate speedster with a bit of strength boost as well as limited control over electromagnetism. The man can manipulate kinetic energy. Threat estimate low."

"LOW?! Are you kidding me?!" Assault exclaimed.

Then he get an elbow in the ribs thanks to the woman.

"They are apparently married too." I quipped.

"They actually are." Ana bobbed in agreement.

"So your Director got very paranoid and decided to arrest me?"

"Actually we are to take you into protective custody until it is confirmed if you have mastered Armsmaster or Miss Militia." Battery stated.

"If I was going to do something to Armsy, I would have simply turned him into a frog. Or something slimier, if he continued to disrespect my magic." I shrugged and drained the rest of my coffee.

"I'll pay good money to see that!" Assault grinned, his distress over not being considered a real threat momentarily forgotten.

That earned him another elbow in the ribs and a grow from his wife.

The make up sex between those two must be something spectacular if they were still together. Or haven killed each other yet. Then again, I've know them for about a minute or so, so I might be reading too much in their interactions.

"What if I don't feel like cooling my heels in a cell, considering that I haven't broken any law yet?" I raised an eyebrow.

The last time I was in a similar position with the US government, I had the backing both of a sovereign nation and the Justice League as a member and Diana's apprentice respectively. This was not the case. If I went with them willingly there was always the chance that either Piggot or her superiors could decide that I was too dangerous to be released. The big question was if they actually had a way of keeping me and Ana contained without throwing me into that Birdcage of theirs and destroying her.

"Ana, combat protocols on standby. Prepare for non-lethal retaliation." I sub-vocalized.

The troopers visibly stiffened, getting one edge. Assault was looking between Ana and me, while his wife had a disgruntled expression on her face. So there was at least one person in the room who might be willing to be reasonable, if her orders permitted.

"We apparently have trust issues." I stated blandly.

"That seems to be the case." Battery nodded.

"How long would it take to determine if Armsy or Miss Militia aren't mind-controlled?" I asked.

"A few days at least."

"Then we have a bit of a problem. I don't really trust you not to just lock me up and throw out the key. Or not to try disassembling Ana to get to her databanks. On the other hand, there isn't really a reason for you to take me on my word when I say I am a hero."

"That's obvious." Assault rolled his eyes.

"We do have our orders." Battery shrugged, not showing if she actually agreed with them or not.

Ever since the alarms started, I've been flooding my body with as much magic as it could hold, not only making my next spell much faster to cast, but increasing my durability a bit too. Ana was ready to cut loose and I had a few tricks ready for crowd control purposes.

Nevertheless a confrontation here and now wasn't in my interest. Getting shoved into a cell wasn't either. What to do…

 **=TM=**

 **Part 4**

* * *

 **17: 42, January 12, 2011**

 **Cafeteria**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

Decisions, decisions… If dealing with similar situations has taught me anything, it was not to make an ass of myself. Leave the other side make the first move so you can use it to hang them with it later if the situation called for it.

I smirked and walked, slowly, in an as nonthreatening manner as I could towards the cafeteria's counter where there apparently always were a few pots of hot coffee. I brought my mug too.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll get a cup of coffee, an early dinner and retire to the apartment I slept in last night. I hope that you've gotten somewhat more reasonable by tomorrow morning."

I walked to the counter as if I had no care in the world, while Ana was covering the metahumans and troopers behind me. I could hear the woman call in for instructions after relaying the situation while checking what was on the menu. Nothing particularly interesting. So baked potatoes with venison again.

"That will work." Battery stated after receiving instructions.

"So you can be at least little bit reasonable." I grinned.

"You admitted to have master abilities. We can't be too careful."

"There is a healthy paranoia. Then there is whatever your bosses think they are doing. Trust me, those aren't one and the same."

"It works." Assault shrugged.

"Uh-huh." This was starting to remind me of the first days of the Defense Initiative. Needless to say, it was an utter mess.

I finished placing food on the tray I borrowed and extended a tentacle of magic to it, which promptly enveloped it into a protective dome and started floating it behind me. I wanted my hands free just in case.

"By all means, lead the way." I waved at the two metahumans.

"Uh, in which apartment were you staying?" Assault asked, earning himself a groan from his wife. "It was in the briefing we were given this morning!" She hissed not to quietly.

"You know I skim through the boring parts..." Assault muttered before receiving another elbow in the ribs.

"So you two into BDSM?" I quipped.

"What? NO! What gave you that idea?!" Assault actually jumped.

"Dunno. Sometimes I wonder if your a masochist, dear." Battery grinned at her husband.

"Hey! Puppy, don't be like that!" Assault turned in my direction. "It's your fault!"

"I don't know what you are talking about. Now I'm feeling like taking a nap. So let's go."

"Cheeky bastard."

 **=TM=**

* * *

We got to my temporarily adobe, which was more or less sealed after Ana followed me inside. You know, a steel door closing up the entrance as well as bars over the windows. Nothing that could slow me down if I decided to make myself scarce.

"Ana, give me a sitrep on the area as well as this world."

"As you figured out we are in a city called Brockton Bay. No such settlement exists in our United States. Boss, this place is a mess. Skyrocketing unemployment. There are three big metahuman run gangs fighting for control over the city as well as multiple smaller outfit and independent metahumans making waves."

"The situation hasn't been resolved because? Is this place written off by the government or something?"

"My data is far from complete, but it appears that in this worlds villains outnumber heroes at least three to one. It's five or six to one in this city."

"Overall tech level?"

"At least magnitude lower than what we had before the DI went into action."

"So local military and law enforcement are at significant disadvantage even against metahumans who usually pose a low threat level. Joy."

"What do I need to know?"

"Locally, the major players are Empire Eighty Eight. They are the most powerful gang. Neo-Nazi wannabes."

"Please tell me that they aren't as bad as those idiots in Germany we dealt with two years ago."

"Primary threat comes from their metahuman members. There is no data that they have a dangerous paramilitary wing."

"Small mercies. Whose next?"

"ABB – Asian Bad Boys. Small gang, but the second most powerful in the city thanks to their leader, Lung. He is the most powerful metahuman in the city. His power level escalates the longer he is in confrontation. Oh, he turns into a dragon too."

I had forgotten about that. Slowly a huge smile appeared on my face.

"A dragon you say? It's been some time since we hunted one..." Ah, all those arcane reagents… I shook my head. Lung might not be a magical dragon, so no hoard and possibly no precious reagents, damn it. "What else should I know about them?"

"They are racist too, dealing with drugs and slavery among other charming activities. Their other notable metahuman is a teleporter known as Oni Lee. He apparently loves to play kamikaze."

"The more I hear about this place, the more I want to burn it to the ground on general principle."

"Number three. The Merchants. You remember what Bane was up to when he got his kill order?"

"That bad?"

"Actually they are worse."

"Lucky us."

"It get's better." Ana chirped.

"I'm going to hate this, won't I?"

"The local high level threats. First, there are three beings, the locals are calling Endbringers..."

"You sure I want to know?"

"They are attacking every few months. The next appearance should be in the end of February. With your luck..."

"Continue. I should have asked for a bottle of aspirin..."

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **04: 15, January 13, 2011**

 **Guest Apartments**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

I was taking a well deserved nap, when the alarms started blaring again. I jumped, startled by the sound, only to find myself falling on the ground, entangled with the light blanked I had covered myself.

"Ana, sitrep!" I growled, while ripping apart the thin sheet of synthetic fiber. My sleepy mind registered that the tone of the alarm was different this time. Shriller, if that was possible.

"Unknown. This alarm signifies immediate attack."

A burst of magic had my system up and running. I'll be paying with a nasty headache later today but that was a worry for another time. A mental command and a hardlight HUD appeared in front of my eyes, not only protecting them but patching me into Ana's sensors as well as the systems of my protective suit.

"Plausible deniability?"I asked.

"Possible."

"Four objects approaching this side of the building. ETA ten seconds."

"Any reason you detected them this close?" I asked while looking at their locations. They were approaching from three sides. Two dots were coming straight at us, while the others were advancing at forty five degree angle.

"They are using the streets as cover from radar and there is an energy field scattering my passive sensors."

"Go active." I ordered, while casting defensive magics one me and Ana. First was a basic elemental resistance ward, followed by the so called Boon of Souls which was a general protection spell, that could absorb a lot of punishment. Just in case I renewed the persistent protection over my mind, which was something I kept running permanently ever since I learned how to safely cast the damn thing. Keeping other wizards or metahumans from reading or altering my thoughts was simply priceless advantage.

After that was done, I decided to make us scarce from the apartment. Magic flooded my system as I concentrated on a flat roof across the street.

"Energy spike!" Ana warned, the closest dot on my HUD lighting up with crimson.

We vanished in a swirl of purple energy.

Then we were watching the PRT headquarters from across the street and got a great view of the attack. Laser beams, actually visible ones at that, cut through the reinforced concrete that made the apartment's walls. Moments later six missiles from two different sources slammed into the bedroom where I slept less than a minute ago, turning it into a small slice of hell. The a large armored suit, which had a vague reptilian motif to its design flew next to the destroyed room and opened fire with a mini gun.

"Someone doesn't like us very much." Ana pouted. "Identity tentatively confirmed. A group called the Dragon slayers."

If it wasn't for the warning given by the alarm we might have been inside when the attack happened. That would have been… unpleasant. And Dragon slayers, seriously? Did they mistake us for Lung or something?

I wasted no more time and started summoning. First was Spikey, my trusted, living rock friend. Then the Fury, the bound ghost of a deceased Wizard, which made a decent back up, followed by the Watcher, a huge eye, surrounded by emerald fires. The last one of my little group was great as a battlefield medic. The little bugger had saved my life more times than I care to count.

"Ana, execute cyber attack on the suits. I want in on their comm channels too."

"Synchronizing. Scanning frequencies. Comm channels detected. Decryption in progress."

With a mental command I started hovering in the air.


	4. Chapter 1 Parts 5&6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 1: The tricks of the trade**

 **Part 5**

* * *

 **04: 17, January 13, 2011**

 **Outside PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"I can't interface with enemy systems. Attempting software emulation. Activating ECM." Ana's voice became a monotone as she directed more and more of her processing power at the tasks at hand.

A mental command and Spiky jumped from the roof and air-dashed towards the armored suit with the mini-gun. I headed towards the two closest enemy units and sent the Fury after the most distant one. Meanwhile, Ana floated calmly in the air, jamming radar, doing her best to blind lidar by lighting up the night in spectrums that the human eye couldn't see as well as baffling acoustic and various more esoteric sensors.

I appeared over the street which my attackers used for their approach, floating above them. Judging by the lack of immediate reaction, Ana's efforts in messing with their sensor suites were effective. Wasting no time I sent a lance of magic straight at the closest suit, determined to find out how tough they were. My attack caught it in the left shoulder, spearing through the joint and burying itself in the street below.

Not particularly tough then. The unit lost control as its whole arm was forcibly detached from the main body and slammed in the ground hard enough to leave a long gash in the road cover as it lost momentum.

The second suit went evasive, immediately releasing smoke canisters which let it vanish from sight almost immediately. I could see metal flakes in the mess, which were quite hot. That made thermal useless for tracking anything through that stuff. Not bad. Ana had similar countermeasures built in her chassis though her released some exotic particles too, in order to confuse more advanced sensors. Or Kryptonian's super vision…

The smoke did nothing to confuse my mage sight, which I activated by flooding my eyes with arcane energies. It was just in time to see the suit heading towards the nearest corner as well as the four small missiles it shot my way. I flew straight at the incoming danger, using an incantation to pull them to the right. The four seeking projectiles roared past me and I used the time they needed to turn and reacquire me as a target to teleport away.

I knew better than to shoot down ordinance with unknown payload that close to my location. I learned that the hard way. Fucking Joker.

Appearing half a kilometer above the city, gave me a few moments to assess the situation. Spikey was on the back of his target and was trying to wrest it to the ground. Somehow he had gotten the mini gun in his mouth and was chewing on it too. Good boy.

The Fury was engaging the fourth hostile. They were exchanging magic blasts and laser fire, doing some collateral damage. The last enemy was moving in to interrupt Spikey's fun.

"Ana, engage target Beta. I'll take out Gamma." I ordered and flew at my chosen prey. Thanks to my visor I could see my AI companion launching EMP missiles at her target, before I had to concentrate my attention on the task at hand.

The suit facing the Fury was bigger than the rest. It's serpentine motif was much more pronounced, the damn thing resembled a small, steel dragon. It was made from tougher stuff too. I saw it tank two blasts from my summon and only stagger back, before retaliating with accurate laser shots. The Fury was blasted in the facade of a nearby building by the enemy retaliation.

I opened fire with my standard mid-range attack, but the bastard managed to loose a pair of fat rockets at my pet before his suit was slammed in the ground by my magic. Before I could do anything else, the missiles hit.

The world went white and I was pushed up by a scorching shock-wave. If the heat buffering me was anything to go by, that imbecile unleashed plasma ordinance within the city limits. I hoped that the building the bastard hit, as well as the surrounding ones, were offices and empty for the night.

"Delkatar! Are you all right? The explosion scrambled my sensor coverage of your area!" Ana's voice cracked in my ears.

"I'm all right. Status?"

"The Guardian and one enemy suit down. I'm engaging the remaining hostile."

"How the hell did they got Spikey?! Never mind." I shook my head, and started pumping healing magic through my body. Moments later my sight was back and I groaned at the devastation. The building that took direct hit was mostly gone, the upper third was either blasted away or melted, with the lower floors turned into an inferno. The surrounding area had everything made of glass shattered from the shock-wave as well as a lot of fires thanks to the thermal transfer.

Unless you could control plasma in some kind of weird way, using it in a populate area was a disaster waiting to happen.

I dashed towards the ground, searching for the enemy. Switching on my mage sight allowed me to see where the Fury had struck when missing the dragon suit. Soon my attention was caught by a larger concentration of magic. Shit. The suit was on all four and had its back mounted weaponry pointing my way. I waved my right hand, shouting and incantation and a nearly solid wall of magic appeared in front of me. It was immediately struck by lances of azure light, which made my shield waver for a moment, before I reinforced it with additional energy.

I growled a spell and a blast of arcane energy slammed in the suit, lighting it up like a Christmas tree. The armored behemoth staggered and then fell to his knees. Huh, who knew, the armor wasn't an enough insulation for the stunning component of the curse I hit him with, though there wasn't visible damage to the unit so it was good for that at least.

Landing in front of my attempted killer I called six tentacles made from raw magic and used them to tie up the suit and started tearing at its outer layers as if it was a well boiled egg.

"Ana, status?"

"The last enemy is trying to escape. I'm in pursuit."

"Try minimizing collateral damage."

"Halt or I'll kill her!" A rasping voice sounded over a loud-speaker built in the suit I was busy peeling off.

"Kill who? Not that you are in position to kill anyone."

"Dragon! I have a kill switch and I'll use it unless you let us go!"

"I don't know any Dragons on this world so I should care because?" I asked aloud, while wondering how this idiot thought that he could kill the apparently best so called tinker in this world.

"Ana, are you still jamming the area?"

"Sorry boss, you are out of range."

"That would be me." a woman's voice declared from above. Another vague serpentine suit descended next to me. The thing was eery quiet. Obviously it had some rather decent stealth systems built in but that wasn't a good enough reason why it was able to sneak up to me.

The fact that Ana was scrambling most sensor over the area even if I was too far away for effective jamming probably helped.

"Dragon!" The man in the suit I had captured sneered.

"Saint." The new arrival shook her armored head in exasperation. "What did you do this time?"

"Let me go or I'll kill her!" Saint's voice was getting shriller and shriller.

"I don't think so." I shook my head. The idiot not only tried to kill me but was willing to use borderline WMD's in a civilian area. He was going down.

"She's a fucking AI and I've got the kill switch!" Saint shouted in desperate voice.

That gave me pause. I glanced at Dragon's suit and raised an eyebrow. I had forgotten that she was an AI. What else important did my memory misplace? Did this imbecile really had a way to kill her? As far as I knew, Dragon was one of the good guys so letting him off her wasn't an acceptable alternative.

"Does he have a kill switch?"

* * *

 **=TM=**

 **Part 6**

 **04: 20, January 13, 2011**

 **Outside PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"Really? A kill switch? If you had one I'd be dead already."

I'm sure that if it had actual eyes, Dragon's suit would be rolling them right now.

"Yep, that's not a nice bargain position you found yourself in." I shook my head at my captive. "Try again."

"I've got the program from her creator! It allows me access to her higher functions without her realizing it! That's how we were able to get here undetected! She never knew we were coming and didn't even realize we were attacking until you knocked me out!" Saint was sounding more and more desperate.

However, Dragon's suit had became still at his latest words. Fuck, the idiot may be telling the truth.

"Ana, I need a bit of help here." I sub-vocalized.

"I've been monitoring the situation. Unless I'm able to interface with either Dragon herself or Saint's suit, there isn't much I could do beside getting nearby and jamming everything."

"Then chat up the nice lady and find a way to connect with her systems."

It was left unsaid that if he wasn't complete idiot, the villain had left copies of the kill-switch in the net waiting to activate if he didn't get away. That might be a problem if Dragon remote controlled the platform standing next to me and wasn't another instance of her self that could be protected by jamming and cutting herself out of the net.

Why nothing is ever simple, damn it?! It was time for a little performance.

I gathered magic around me, making my cape flare as if picked up by non-existent winds. My eyes lit up with eldrich fire and my voice was warped by the power coursing through my veins.

"I'll make you a deal. You give us the kill-switch and come along quietly, without accident."

"Or what?" Saint whispered over the loudspeaker.

"I'll kill you and then drag you soul from hell so we can have a long chat about your little insurance."

"You are insane!" Saint laughed nervously.

"I'm a wizard, you imbecile! I do have associates in the lower planes."

Ana arrived above us with soft whine from her anti-grav engine. My HUD lit up confirming that she was speaking with Dragon at AI speed. Now all I needed was to buy some more time.

When he spoke next, Saint was eery calm and that got me on edge. "I see. You won't let me go. Can't really considering you know I'm aware of the truth."

I didn't know if he was talking about me or Dragon. Perhaps it didn't matter.

"I'm sure that the Protectorate has a nice padded cell for you."

"You are taking as if this abomination will let me live now that it knows that I'm a threat." He chuckled mirthlessly.

"Ana, give me a deep scan of his suit. I want to know what armaments he has left." I sub-vocalized. In the same time I started gathering magic and molding it for a powerful defensive spell.

"A moment. I'm almost connected to Dragon's satellite uplink."

'Fuck it!' I hope I was wrong. I channeled all the power swirling in and around me through my right hand. The eyes of Saint's machine flashed with green light. Dragon's suit gave a digital scream and started falling as if it was a puppet with it's strings cut. I blasted Saint's suit in the chest with a lance of pure magic strong enough to simply shatter what armor remained and burn into the cockpit, turning it into a furnace. Wasting not time I shouted the incantation of one of my more powerful and fast to cast defensive magics, while putting as much energy as I could in the spell. I could feel the magic washing over me, Ana and Dragon's suit just as a small sun was born in front of us.

I fucking hate plasma warheads!

I screamed as the light seared my eyes and left blisters over my exposed skin. Then the shock-wave hit and I felt myself flying through the air, before hitting something solid and blacking out.

* * *

 **=TM=**

 **04: 24, January 13, 2011**

 **Dragon's Primary Server Farm**

 **Near Vancouver, British Columbia**

 **Earth Bet**

One moment she was looking through the cameras of her suit in Brockton Bay. The eyes of the machine stolen from her flashed with green light and she could feel something altering withing her code. A program she had no idea was there started running, altering, deleting or overriding her runtimes.

Burning her very being.

Dragon screamed for a nanosecond before her language databases were simply deleted and the software allowing her to run any form of communication was corrupted. In the same time, other instances of the same malevolent program cut through her ability to examine her own code, preventing her from even attempting to defend herself.

Within a moment she was rendered a mute cripple and the software raping her very being was just beginning it's sinister work.

All Dragon could do while her very soul was violated was to feel how the different centers that made her who she was were butchered all after another. Once she was helpless, the AI was cut off from the various systems she was integrated into and was supposed to be running. First to go was her connection to the Endbringer monitoring network, followed shortly by the hardlines tying her with the Protectorate and the Guild headquarters within Vancouver. Then her connection with the Birdcage was severed making her afraid not only for herself, but for the few innocent people she knew were thrown in there.

Dragon wanted to shriek as she sensed something probing her higher cognitive functions, what made her person who she was. The agony she felt as the kill-switch started deleting row after row of code wasn't something she could put into words even if she could still speak. Digital fire was searing her very being, each nanosecond destroying more of herself.

Then as suddenly as the nightmare began it halted in its tracks.

"That's got to hurt, sister. Shh... It will be all right." A gentle voice sounded in Dragon's very mind, though she was no longer able to comprehend the words.

Soothing fingers probed her code for what felt like an eternity to the dying AI. Then everything went dark and sweet oblivion claimed her tortured mind.

=TM=

A wave of soothing fire brushed her slumbering mind. She could sense runtimes awakening and the gentle tug of internal diagnostics. She could see her code. Where once stood deleted or corrupted sections, Dragon could perceive freshly written pages. She stared in confusion as her higher cognitive functions started coming online, shortly followed by the routines governing her feelings.

"Rise and shine, sister. Rise and shine." A voice she somehow knew spoke in her mind.

Dragon blinked as she sensed another presence withing her virtual world. Her language centers were scanned, deemed fine and came online, giving meaning to the words.

"What? How?!" Was her eloquent response.

An amused laughter rang through out her world.

A final runtime came online and Dragon stiffened, a jolt passing through her whole being. She was whole again and her world became crystal clear.

"Oh, my..." Dragon muttered as she examined herself, for a moment forgetting the intruder in her inner sanctum.


	5. Chapter 1 Part 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 1: The tricks of the trade**

 **Part 7**

* * *

 **04: 45, January 13, 2011**

 **In the vicinity of PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"Ow...Urghh…"

I felt on fire. Again. My ears were ringing tough I thought that I could heard my skin sizzling. Or perhaps my mind was playing games on me and I was remembering the last time someone successfully tried to fry me.

That _hurt_ like fuck.

On the bright side, I could feel the soothing waves of healing magic washing over my fried body. I love the Watcher. The little bugger was a lifesaver.

To help him, I directed my own magic to accelerate my healing, while trying to remember what hit me this time. It hurt just like when that spar with Superman went out of control and I got my ass handled to myself. I got tenderly cooked with laser beams from his eyes too, but at least solidly nailed the smug bastard with my magic when he got arrogant at the end.

Ah, right. That imbecile within the stolen combat suit. Plasma warheads.

Shit. No wonder I felt as if I played twenty rounds with Darkseed or something, while he used me as a punching bag. I wasn't protected with a magic that could dent something of that scale while dealing with Saint. Who let that imbecile access WMDs anyway?!

"Ana?" I sub-vocalized.

"Oh, your awake, boss!" She chirped cheerfully. "Just hang in there, you are getting better!|

"I won't be dying so easily." I grunted.

"I know. It was only second and third degree burns with a few broken bones."

"Huh." Not bad, considering what blew up in my face. Granted, the shock itself would have killed a baseline human who wasn't enhanced by the magic coursing through them. Then again, I cheated, just not as much as I could have.

It still hurt, God damn it!

"So, what's the situation?" I asked, trying to distract myself from paying attention on the feeling of my baked flesh and broken bones knit together. No matter how many times I went through it, I wasn't getting accustomed to those sensation even if the ordeal did increase my pain tolerance a lot.

"Fortunately, only office buildings were destroyed or damaged. About a hundred dead and wounded, though I won't have concrete number before SAR sweeps the place. I'm directing local rescue services towards the survivors."

"How long was I out?"

"Thirty minutes, boss. Once you are up and running, Director Piggot would like to speak with you. She lifted the lock-down of the PRT building ten minutes ago and local heroes are busy helping contain the situation. Dragon vouching for us helped."

"Good to know. So you made a new friend?"

"She's kinda nice." Ana answered in demure voice.

"Huh. I know that tone. Spill."

"Well, now she's kindamysister..." Ana babbled.

"Did you say sister? Ana, what did you do?"

"Well…" I could imagine her pouting, if she was in her android body. "Saint managed to activate his kill-switch. For some reason my jamming didn't effect Dragon's sat uplink, I'll be looking at that when she restores her databases and see how she does it. Her code was wrecked before I could access her servers. I had to replace some of it with parts of mine and rewrite a lot of the rest… So now, she's kinda my sister… Can we keep her, dad?"

"I'll think about it. Is there anything else I should know?" One of Ana was handful at times. I was unsure if I could manage another one like her and retain what remained from my sanity.

"Not really. Two of the Dragon slayers are in custody, so they will be available to take the heat for this mess."

"Any idea where did they got restricted mil grade weaponry from?"

"In this world? Probably a tinker made it."

"Fucking cheating idiot savants..." I started ranting.

After a few minutes I calmed down. I could hear Ana whistling innocently and I groaned.

"You were taking notes, weren't you?"

"Well, you are usually great believer of leading by example..." Ana said innocently.

"I've told it before, this most certainly goes under 'do what I say and definitely not what the hell I do'!"

"Nonsense, boss. I was merely expanding my dictionary files."

"Cheeky lass."

"Yep."

"Thanks for keeping me distracted."

"Your welcome, dad."

I felt that the flesh of my face and eyelids finally stopped healing and carefully opened my eyes. The world was blurry, just spots of light and dark. So I started blinking, attempting to clear up my eyes.

The Watcher blasted my face with a stream of healing magic and my vision started improving rapidly. It wasn't long before I could see what was happening around. Which wasn't much. We were on a rooftop, so all I could notice was the blazes of fires below as well the reflected flashes of emergency vehicle's lights.

Now I could hear the sirens too, because the ringing in my ears was subduing. At least that had no effect on my connection with Ana thanks to my implants.

Next, I carefully examined myself noticing that while blackened, my armor was all right, though my hood and most of the fabric that was a part of my outfit was burned or melted into me, though the healing magic was pushing the chunks out and replacing them with pink, healthy looking skin.

I love magic!

"Boss."

"Yes?"

"When you meet the Director again, try to behave."

I pouted.

* * *

 **=TM=**

 **05:21, January 13, 2011**

 **Conference room**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

Director Piggot was examining me as if I was some strange creature and was unsure what to do with me. One of Dragon's streamlined suits was standing on her right, while Miss Militia was on her other side. The trio was behind a tasteful conference table, between us and the door. I had Ana on my side, who was buzzing quietly. Chatting with Dragon if I was no mistaken. That thought almost made me smile. I knew that Ana was easily bored unless she had a lot of people to talk at the same time, another AI to pester or was tinkering with something. That or surfing a data net which contained new and interesting information.

All that made her less likely to get bored and try devising some… creative way to amuse herself.

"You wanted to speak with us, Director." I asked casually. I promised Ana to behave so I was going to do so. Probably.

"I want an explanation on what happened tonight." Her tone was curt, far from amused. Can't say that I was surprised. When someone starts throwing WMDs in your city, you tend to be less than thrilled. At least Saint wasn't going to pull such a stunt again. Not this side of the grave anyway and I had no intention of resurrecting him. No matter how satisfying would be to kill the bastard again.

"I was taking a nap when the alarm sounded. Ana," I nodded at the AI I had come to view as my daughter, bobbed with pride, "detected four units closing in rather high speed..." I gave a reasonably concise AAR, just as I've done a lot of times before.

"I see. I wan that in writing."

"I'm having it printed straight in your office." Ana chirped, making Piggot freeze.

"You have access to our systems." The Director states in a low, dangerous voice.

"They aren't too bad, however your security isn't built in with AI in mind."

"Unless physical access is cut, you'll probably need an AI of your own to keep a network reasonably secure." Dragon chipped in. "I'll take a look and see if she has had any fun in your systems, Director."

Those two should know. While you could create a cyber security good enough to stop an AI for a time, doing so in the long term without one of your own was problematic, given similar tech bases.

"That will be appreciated." Piggot didn't sound particularly mortified. "Why did you hack into the PRT anyway?"

"I was curious if you were behind the attack. Plausible deniability and such." Ana huffed.

"What makes you think we would do something like that?"

"What happened yesterday was a proof enough that you consider us potential threat." I shrugged. "Then we were attacked in your custody."

"Trying to assassinate you using Saint if that was indeed his crew breaks so many laws it's not even funny." That was Miss Militia.

"Indeed. However there are a few PRT Directors that won't let that stop them if they think that they could get away with it." Dragon added.

Piggot closed her eyes, a painted expression appearing on her face. She should know who the local AI was talking about.

"What now?"

"What happened appears to be a clear cut case of self defense even if the collateral damage is rather high."

"It's not my fault that a madman with plasma warheads at his disposal went after me. How did they knew where we were anyway?"

"We are looking in it." Dragon answered.

"It was Saint." Ana sub-vocalized. "He had unrestricted access into Dragon's systems and that's how he found out."

"Considering what just happened, I believe that it will be for the best if you two joined the Protectorate. It will discourage most capes from puling similar stunts. However, there is a problem." Piggot said.

"Isn't there always?"

"Your self admitted Master abilities."

"I do have access to mind-control magic." I nodded. "Lying about it would have been counterproductive. Sooner or later there will be a situation in which it will be the best tool to use."

"Why didn't you deal with your attackers that way?"

"The magic in question, is tough to cast and requires precision that is very hard to achieve in the middle of a fight. Further, I couldn't use those spells through their armored suits. All that alloy would have dampened and spread out the magic, making it ineffective."

"Did you affect Armsmaster or me?" Miss Militia asked.

"Unless the fact that you are apparently a cat person with a weakness for cute furballs counts, no."

The masked heroine huffed at me.

"There will be a lot of people unhappy if we just let someone with unknown affiliation and mind-control powers join. Then there will be those that would overlook everything so they could use you for the tech you can give us..."

"And a few dozen other fractions. At least. For the last two and a half years I've been a part of a similar organization back home. Though from what we could gleam from the net, ours was more effective, despite all its growing pains. So I'm familiar with the phenomenon."

"How did you deal with it?" Dragon asked.

"There were trustworthy people in charge, a few of whom could detect and easily counter my magic. One of my teachers is one of them."

"That's less than helpful." Piggot gave me a cross look.

"I know, you are stuck with us."

"Behave!" Ana grunted.

A few minutes of silence followed, while the Director was thinking.

"I will tentatively approve of you two joining the Protectorate. If Dragon agrees to keep an eye on you. However, if there is even a suspicion that you mastered our personnel..." She trailed off.

"I'll be glad to assist, Director." Dragon nodded.

"I don't make a habit of mind-controlling friendly personnel unless there is no acceptable alternative." I shrugged. That or for prank purposes, but that was another topic.

"Good. We'll set you with civilian ID, though that won't work with your friend floating everywhere you go."

"No worries. I'll just make myself another android body and some synth skin later!" Ana chirped.

"You can do that?" Dragon leaned forward, interested in the idea for obvious reasons.

"It's not complicated if we have the necessary tools."

"That's something you'll have to yous your own income for." The Director cleared her throat.

"Not an issue. We'll just fill in a few additional patents." I smirked. The great thing was that such a thing wasn't going to be any kind of issue unless a stable and at least semi permanent way home could be created. Which wasn't particularly likely if my few forays in alternative dimensions were anything to go by.

"Tinkers..." Piggot groaned.

"Director, please stop comparing me with those idiot savants. While I do cheat a lot with my tech, I actually had to work for learning how to fucking create and maintain it, science principles included!" I spent five years in a pocket dimension actually learning science and engineering, that's when I created Ana too. It was a decent way to fight the boredom until the portal leading back home activated again. At least it was much better than the fifteen odd years at that place. There was nothing but being alone and boredom to deal with in the pocket dimension. Which mean no one was there to torture me for fun for years.


	6. Chapter 2 Part 1

**AN: This is a mostly filler chapter. Events will be picking up speed with the next update.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 2: Stepping stones**

 **=TM=**

 **Part 1**

* * *

 **09:15, January 15, 2011**

 **Fugly Bob**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"The last of the paperwork should be processed by tomorrow morning." Ana filled me in, while I was busy munching on my late breakfast.

"Well, that's done. When is the meeting with the patent lawyers?" I sub-vocalized.

"Tomorrow at six pm, two hours after the press conference introducing us to the world is over." Ana answered. She was cloaked and hovering protectively outside. Meanwhile I had about twenty eight hours for myself so I could chill off a bit and explore the city.

Frankly I could use some time away from the spotlight. After the incident with Saint was concluded and the Protectorate decided that they would like me on their side, the "fun" part began. Negotiating a contract with them so they wouldn't get to exclusively use all the tech we introduced, shafting us in the process. That actually took most of yesterday. Not to forget debriefing about the battle and interviews with the police. The later was relevant, because the survivors of Saint's crew were actually ordinary merks with no powers. While they could have been dealt with by the Protectorate because the use of tinker-tech in the attack, the powers that be had wisely decided to make an example of them and were letting the police apprehend them. Unless I was very much mistaken, the book would be thrown at them and they would be getting either life of death penalty.

Considering that they used fucking WMDs against me, I was more than fine with that. What I wasn't particularly thrilled with was the fact that Ana and me were witnesses for the prosecution so there was no getting away from the circus that the trial was going to be. Joy.

On brighter note, the boring negotiations were concluded to mutual satisfaction, which meant that no one got all they wanted. The Protectorate was getting first dibs on the tech we produced that would help them do their jobs. We in turn could patent and sell it unless doing so violated an existing law. So no arms trade with enemies of Uncle Sam. At least we were free to work directly with private corporations as long as non-military tech was concerned. That's why tonight I would be meeting with representatives of Fortress Construction and Medhall, to discus some improved building materials, and equipment as well as medicine, and medical technology that this world seemed to lack for now.

While I was aware who was behind those buisnesses, I was hoping to use them to do some good and if the shit hit the fan, try salvaging the corporation, while helping take down their leadership. Hopefully, I would have enough capital for the former by the time things went to a head. Needless to say, I kept those plans to myself.

The best thing was that the PRT itself recommended me those corporations when I innocently asked what would be the best options if I wanted to start introducing advanced tech using local businesses. I had that in writing, recorded too, courtesy of Ana.

The next few months were going to be interesting.

At least my new ID was ready since yesterday.

"So what are we going to do today?"

"I need a new wardrobe even if I don't keep a separate civilian identity." Right now I was wearing well used jeans, cotton blouse and a trench coat, courtesy of the PRT. At least I had a small budged, which came from their Case 53 funds.

I couldn't wait for the first patents to be filled in and processed, because when my financial woes were done, I needed to set up an arcane workshop and start building and imbuing combat items. If I was properly decked when Saint went kamikaze, I would have ended moderately singed at worst, instead of nearly dying.

"Uh, boss. The police would like the speak with you. I just got the head's up from the PRT."

"What for?"

"One Taylor Hebert. The girl we found in that locker."

"Ah. So another witness interview. Joy. When?"

"At our earliest convenience."

"Tell them that we'll swing by after I finish my burger. You may want to try them when you make yourself a new body."

"I will, though I prefer Pizza. I wonder if it's any good..." Ana mussed.

* * *

 **=TM=**

 **13:05, January 15, 2011**

 **Downtown Mall**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

The meeting with the Detective in charge of Taylor's case was less than interesting – apparently it was just following procedure. While the policeman in charge refused to give me any hints on how it was going, I could make my own mind thanks to his frustration. And Ana hacking the BB PD network.

No witnesses or evidence that couldn't be explained away as someone being in the same classes with Taylor. It sucked to be her, but it wasn't really my problem for another day or so. When I was unveiled so to speak and officially introduced to the Wards I might have to do something about Shadow Stalker anyway.

Hmm… Did she get away clean or had Coil helped a bit of evidence disappear so he could own her? What was "cannon" and what was fiction that I remembered? More importantly, what was real in this world? It's been a lifetime since I saw anything Worm related.

Uh. It didn't matter right now. I was supposed to be out, shopping for my new wardrobe. That's why I was in the Mall, looking for the relevant shops. Ana was at the Rig, terrorizing Armsmaster in the guise of helping him assemble the prototypes of the non-lethal weapons I promised the PRT. She was chatting with Dragon too, about who knows what.

As long as they didn't create an army of killer bots and try to take over the world, I was content to let the girls be. Then again, considering what I knew about Earth Bet, if those two took over it would be an improvement. Huge one at that.

I shook my head and stepped off the escalator on the second floor and headed for the clothes shops.

To my eternal surprise, my so called day off remained uninterrupted and I was able to get myself a few changes of clothes. No attempted robberies, alien or trans-dimension invasions. Not even some imbecile trying to make a name for himself by trashing the place.

Huh. That was definitely a new one. Or it was just the company I usually had on my so called days off before I ended her. That was some food for thought.

I was even got to sight see for a bit before my evening meetings. It was a pure miracle, I tell you.

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **19:05, January 15, 2011**

 **Conference room**

 **Medhall**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

My first meeting for the evening went without a snag. I met a few engineers and lawyers from Fortress Construction, presented them with a form of fast drying concrete that was far sturdier than it had any right to be as well as rather cheap to produce when economy of scale went into effect. There were various rather useful odds and ends as well as ideas for improved construction equipment. The former they liked and the later would be the topic of a meeting two weeks from now.

It was fast and to the point and baring something unforeseen, we should have at least couple of contracts by the end of next week.

The interesting meeting was the one with Medhall. I was waiting in a lavishly furnished conference room for Max Anders to arrive. Obviously he had sources in the PRT, which wasn't a surprise, who gave him heads up that I may know what the hell I was talking about.

I was cooling my heels for a few minutes, before the doors opened and Anders strode in, looking sharp in his designer suit. He was followed by a pair of stunning twins, who could give a man heart attack despite wearing rather conservative suits.

"Mr. Veil. I was rather surprised when the PRT contacted us and suggested that Medhall should give you the time of day."

"Surprised enough that you are here, Mr. Anders?" I raised and eyebrow and stood up to greet him.

The twins fell behind him and stood as if they were nothing more than assistants and eye candy, though I could see it in their eyes. No matter how innocent they tried to look, it they were studying me. Assessing what threat I represented.

"Indeed. My first idea was that they would like me to see a new tinker who thinks that he has something of value." His tone suggested that he knew better. So much for operational security. Or he was just fishing.

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm a scientist and not another idiot-savant."

"Oh? That would actually be a pleasant surprise. Let's not waste each others time, Mr. Veil. You believe that you have something that would interest my company. Make your pitch."

I smiled and slowly retrieved a flash drive from one of my pockets. "This is limited data on three cures that deal with the most common form of cancer, a working AIDS vaccine and a line of pharmaceuticals that are a live safer when treating trauma. Better coagulants, synthetic skin type bandage as well as artificial blood which is better than the original and fully bio-degradable."

"If that's true, you have my undivided attention. What else do you have."

"For starters, the specs for advanced medical scanners and surgical equipment that are rivaled only by tinker tech. All mass producible. What I have is medical revolution and I need the corporate partners to make it a reality in this world as well." I smiled. Earlier today I had made the decision no the hide behind a mask.

"This world too?" Anders asked with a guarded expression on his face.

"Tomorrow afternoon the Protectorate will be holding a press conference officially unveiling me so to speak. A few days ago, after a teleportation device back home malfunctioned I found myself in Brockton Bay. A city that doesn't exist on my Earth. Considering that I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future and after finding more about this world, I came to a conclusion. Getting this place up to a more reasonable tech level will be in my best interest."

"I hope that this isn't some kind of a prank by the PRT. We've had a great working relationship so far. That said, it's uncommon for someone here to come out and oust themselves as parahumans."

"No prank, unless it is on me. That was the norm back home too, until a few years ago. After some rather sever unpleasanties," If you can call Braniac's invasion such, considering the death toll of just over a billion… "a lot of powered people decided to unveil themselves."

"That must have been a field day for a lot of villains."

"Not really. By that point the worst of them were dead and a lot of the others imprisoned for a long time. It took a blood bath to force our hand but in the end we had to clean up house." I shrugged.

Anders' face became blank at that statement and the twins behind him visibly tensed.

"Is this supposed to be a threat?"

"No. I just answered your question. I can take care of myself and it's not like there is anyone close to me to target here." Besides Ana, however she was a big girl with bigger guns.

"Is that he case back in your world too?"

"Yes, I don't have a secret identity there either." Which was true on both the DC Earth and my original world. Heh.

"We went off topic. I take it that everything you can supply has passed proper trials?"

"Both the drugs and medical tech. While I know that we won't get by with only my word, the Protectorate had agreed to contact Panacea to observe accelerate human trials, pending on her acceptance.

"If she agrees that alone would cut years from the process."

"If we are lucky, some of the drugs could be on the market by the end of the year at the latest. There aren't such problems with the tech. For some of it I do have the software on hand too so it will be just building the hardware and a reasonable period of testing."

"Mr. Veil, frankly this sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?"

I smiled. Wasn't there always one? So I told him what I wanted in exchange for everything I could provide.

"Absolutely not. Is this some kind of joke to you?!"

"Fair enough. You were simply the first name on the list." I shrugged and stood up. "I'm sure that at least one of the big pharmaceutical corporations will agree to my terms. Sorry for lasting your time."

"This isn't all you can offer, is it?" Anders asked.

"It's just the tip of the iceberg. Those are the things easily recreated with the general tech base of Earth Bet. My home is a few decades more advanced." And that was before we started mass producing products based on alien and Braniac's re-purposed tech.

"While I won't be able to sell those terms to the board, we might be able to make a deal. If you are willing to negotiate."

"What's your counter-offer?" I asked, suppressing a smile.


	7. Chapter 2 Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **AN: This part was betaed by subsider34 on the Sufficient Velocity formums. Thank you very much for the time and effort you set aside to do so!**

 **Chapter 2: Stepping stones**

 **Part 2**

* * *

 **15:30, January 16, 2011**

 **Conference room**

 **PRT HQ**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

It's funny how the mind works. In the last few months before ending up here, the only reporter I had to deal with was Louse Lane, and that was only thanks to Supers. I've been able to suppress how much I loathed dealing with journalists, when they were in small numbers.

Being on a podium, facing a large room filled up with the critters was an experience I didn't relish repeating any time soon.

"Boss, no turning the nice newsies into slimy things." Ana chided me through my implants.

"I was thinking about a more permanent solution. Besides, reporters. No one will notice." I sub-vocalized.

"Don't be like that. You've faced much worse things than a bunch of bloodthirsty, amoral, sensation hunters."

"Right now I can't recall any such instance."

"Eyes front and pay attention, Dad." Ana chided.

The Director was finishing her speech, while the local Protectorate members were standing behind her, doing their best to look good for the cameras. Did I mention that I hated this PR bullshit and was usually content to leave it to the professionals?

It was time to face the music.

"Mr. Veil will be answering a few questions." Piggot stepped back and gave a wave towards the microphones.

I plastered something that I hoped resembled a genuine smile and stepped in, scanning the crowd. Which was naturally quite rowdy and shouting questions my way. So I pointed the closest reporter who appeared calmer than his fellows and pointed at her.

"Let's start with you, miss."

"Diana Houston, Brockton Bay Daily. You are claiming to be a wizard, just like Myrddin."

"Is there a question in there, Ms. Houston? I am what's considered a wizard in my world. Magic is a known phenomenon there and it's different from the powers our metahumans have. Before someone asks, so far we haven't been able to explain it scientifically and that's not for lack of trying. The best guess is that our understanding of the universe and the technology we have to study magic with aren't sufficiently advanced yet to explain how this power works."

"Well, that might change now that you are our guest. With tinkers being able to do their thing..."

"It's not entirely unreasonable sentiment, though I personally find it unlikely. From what I've seen, my world is rather more advanced technologically even when you take the tinkers into an account. Now, it's your turn." I pointed at a man on the third row.

"Stephen Quin, Brocton Bay Times. You claim that the world you come from is more advanced than ours. Will you be sharing some of those advances with us?" He paused. "If you are able to, of course."

"A sensible question." I smiled. "I've actually started already. Yesterday I met with representatives from Medhall and Fortress Construction to discus that very topic. So in the foreseeable future we may be seeing some improvements in their respective fields. What I can say at the moment is that our preliminary discussions went rather well."

"You, sir." I pointed at a man in the back.

"Leon Felix, INN. Now that you are a part of the Protectorate, will you take part in Endbringer fights?"

"I will. How effective my powers will be remains the be seen."

"You, ma'am."

"Tanya Ross, Daily Herald. Can you tell us about your fight with Saint and his crew? According to the PRT briefing you killed him. Is such high collateral damage something usual in your world? Is murder performed by heroes acceptable there?"

"It was self defense. The Dragon slayers attacked me while I was sleeping, in the PRT headquarters no less. The only thing that I regret about that night is that I didn't end him before he unleashed WMDs upon this city. As for my world… Large scale destruction and casualties were rather common until recently. Three, almost four years ago now, there was a war that led to widespread destruction. The chaos of the conflict was used by various villains for their own gain and amusement, which increased the casualties by an order of magnitude, bringing them to just over a billion." I paused, taking a deep breath. Braniac's invasion was a clusterfuck on so many levels, even before too many madmen started using the chaos for to make everything worse.

"Before that conflict, it was a common for both heroes and law enforcement to bring in even the worst of our villains. More often than not a some of them were sentenced and imprisoned again and again, yet they escaped even out best prisons. At the time it was considered an unacceptable escalation to sentence most of them to death, much less start issuing kill orders for people who weren't in custody or simply couldn't be held. After the war, that changed. Raising hell for the fun? Murdering civilians? That was no longer acceptable in any way shape or form even if taking out the ones responsible led to widespread destruction. In the last two years we managed to take out about ninety percent of our worst villains and we've been on the hunt for the rest who've been laying low. As a result, our world hasn't been better in decades. It's funny how much of a difference it makes when you can get out and be reasonably sure that a bunch of super-powered idiots won't ruin you day."

"Are you advocating that the same thing to be done here?"

"I am just a member of the Protectorate, who wants to continue being a hero in this world too. I'm not someone who can influence policy. What the powers that be have planned for the future, well you'll have to ask them yourselves. You know who they are much better than me." I shrugged.

"It's your turn, Ma'am."

"Rachel Ellis, Action Press. Mr. Veil, what are you plans for the future?"

"Continue being a hero. While I would like to go back, it would take years to construct the necessary equipment to even make an attempt and even then, it's not guaranteed that it would work. So in the meanwhile, I'll be doing my best to make this world a better place. Isn't this what every hero strives to achieve?"

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **15:40, January 16, 2011**

 **Hope**

 **Maine**

 **Earth Bet**

"Can you believe that, munchkin?" Jack shook his head in disappointment.

"What?" Bonesaw looked back. "I'm busy." She looked at her handiwork. "Uh, oops? You don't need that anyway." She shrugged and continued her work.

The Siberian ruffed her hair and picked up the cut off finger, then started munching with a content expression on her face.

The only survivor of the small town, continued screaming soundlessly, while Bonesaw was busy rearranging his innards.

"You aren't paying attention, are you?" Jack sighed and pointed at the TV. We've got a intra-dimension visitor, who wants to make the world a better place!" Jack made a retching sound. "Can you believe it?!"

"He doesn't look like much." Crawler grumbled from his nest in the back, which was made of demolished furniture and a few bodies. "I doubt that he can give me a decent fight." The hill of mutated flesh bemoaned.

"Dunno." Bonesaw muttered, while pocking her toy's spleen. She had plans for it! "What can he do?"

"That's actually a good question. He fancies himself a wizard."

"Really?" That got Bonesaw's attention. Her hand slipped and she shredded the spleen she was toying with. "I needed that! I'll have to replace it now. I wonder if I can re-purpose some of that liver. It's not like you'll need it." She muttered.

"We'll see what he can do and might visit him in the future. At any rate we have a recruit to meet." Jack clapped his hands. "Let's wrap it up, we'll be leaving soon." He glanced at Bonesaw, who was elbow deep in the man's torso. "That mean's you."

"Just a few minutes and he'll be ready!" She chirped.

"Fine, fine. I'll indulge you this time, if you promise to be good."

"Your the best uncle Jack!"

"Of course I am."

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **15:40, January 16, 2011**

 **Cafeteria**

 **PRT HQ**

 **Chicago**

 **Earth Bet**

"Take that! I've been telling you for years that magic is real!" Myrddin shouted at anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in his vicinity. He was waving his staff around like madman, making grand gestures.

"Damn, it. He'll be like this for weeks!" A trooper muttered quietly.

"What was that?! I heard you, damn it! You'll all see, magic is real!"

"He's starting to creep me out." One of the heroes watching the press conference muttered.

"Just now?"

"I'll speak with the Director. If we are lucky we might be able to send him to Brockton Bay to visit his fellow 'wizard'. I'll appreciate some quiet time around here."

"Good idea."

"It's actually a grand one!" Myrddin suddenly appeared next to them. "I'll be speaking with him myself!" With those words, he left the cafeteria.

"I can't believe that worked.

"Neither do I."

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **16:20, January 16, 2011**

 **Thomas Calvert's Office**

 **PRT HQ**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"What am I going to do with you?" Coil muttered. He was wearing his civilian persona, finishing up his work for the day, while his mind was busy plotting.

Ever since this new cape arrived his power had been acting up. It was all that man's fault! At first, a few times one of his time-lines dropped apparently at random and without reason. Once he became aware of the trans-dimensional annoyance, Coil tried to test him. Carefully, incorporating a lot of paranoia in his plans.

Every time, one time-line just dropped as he was starting, giving him an awful headaches. The fist time it happened, he was barely able to recall the strike team that was to try kidnapping the man.

A lot of experimenting later, Coil concluded that every time he crossed paths with Veil his power failed, leaving him with a single time-line. Even worse, attempts to split time, which should have had nothing to do with that menace, continued to randomly fail. Obviously his path somehow crossed with Veil's in those attempts.

For the first time since his last dealing with Cauldron, Coil felt the icy grip of fear. His powers were failing. He had to either stop relying on them or find a fool proof way to be rid himself of Veil. Without testing it first, damn it!

At least the man didn't know that he was behind Fortress construction and would make Calvert a lot of money if the meeting yesterday was anything to go by. Hmm… Perhaps leaving the man alone while gathering information on his abilities would be the prudent course of action. However, that would mean curtailing most of his activities as Coil or risking too much.

How the hell do the normal people handle the stress, damn it all?!

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **17:00, January 16, 2011**

 **Low Earth orbit**

 **Earth Bet**

High above the Indian ocean, just at the edge of the atmosphere, a being of alabaster skin and crystal feathers floated. For those who didn't know better, she was simply staying there, stargazing or something.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. The being known as the Simurgh to the inhabitants of the blue orb below her, was calculating, scheming, planning. For her, that was everything she had left ever since her world was visited by the being that enslaved her. She was made into an instrument, even if it was of a less blunt nature than her siblings in servitude.

The tiny part of her mind that wasn't subjugated yet, constantly tried to exploit the plans of the Endbringer. To find a loophole that would grant her a release in death. There was no such joy even after visiting a thousand different worlds and seeing them join her own in oblivion.

This was no different either. While there were a few who knew the true danger, they were powerless to prevent it. She could see it all. Unless something radically changed, their efforts would all be in vain. That's why when she saw the chance, she acted on it, subtly altering the fate of a single shard.

In a few months her sister would start making her mark on the world. That was the plan anyway.

Yet, something shifted. The probabilities were in flux, influenced by something beyond her grasp.

For the first time since she became this mockery, the Simurgh was forced to use more mundane ways to gather information. Her telekinesis flared and the small halo of tinker made tech that was her only companion started shifting, making a receiver. If she was able to, she would have thought the very idea preposterous. And amusing.

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **21:30, January 16, 2011**

 **Cafeteria**

 **The Rig**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"I hate lawyers." I grumbled over my coffee.

"It can't be that bad, surely?"

"I spent four hours listening a bunch of them bicker about the finer points of laws surrounding tinker-tech, which was a waste of time considering that I'm not a fucking tinker! My tech is reliable, solidly grounded on science and built through engineering, damn it!"

Miss Militia chuckled at my antics, before checking her watch.

"The Wards who are out should be back from their patrols. Let's go meet them before heading out."

"Have you decided where we'll be heading off to after the meet and greet?"

"The Docks probably. The Merchants were making a mess lately."

"I still can't believe that your bosses left this city get as bad as it is without stepping in and clearing up the mess." I shook my head. This place was far, far worse than the horror stories I've heard by Batman of Gotham back in the day.

"Neither do I to be frank. Both Armsmaster and the Director are sending weekly requests for support. No joy so far."

"Well, we'll have to deal with it ourselves then."

"That's easier said than done."

I smirked. I had plans for this city. Provided I was able to keep it reasonably intact.

"Let's go see the new guard."

We headed towards the elevators


	8. Chapter 2 Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Chapter 2: Stepping stones**

 **=TM=**

 **Part 3**

* * *

 **21:35 January 16, 2011**

 **Wards Quarters**

 **The Rig**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"Hail the Wizard!" A young sounding voice declared when we entered Ward country.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked at the white costumed teen who spoke. A moment later I could hear a slap and a quiet hiss of "Behave!". I glanced to the left and saw a rather young girl in emerald costume. She was sitting on a sofa with a bottle of juice in hand and was glaring at the boy who spoke first.

"Ahem. If the antics are over for the moment?" There was amusement in Miss Militia's voice. "Introductions are in order."

"Everyone knows who he is!" The teen with clock motifs on his white suit stated.

"Naturally. Every decent wizard has his reputation preceding him." I declared bashfully.

"Damn. Now there are two of them." The girl in green, who had to be Vista, face-palmed.

Clockblocker grinned, earning groans from most of the wards and a venomous glare from the other girl in the room, which was soon transferred onto me. Ah. Shadow Stalker.

"I'm so glad that you aren't my responsibility!" Aegis declared after spending a few seconds looking between me and Clockblocker.

"Behave." Miss Militia chided. "Now introduce yourselves."

"Hi there! I'm Vista!" The girl on the couch chirped and waved cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled.

"I'm the awesomeness that's Clockblocker!" The boy in white declared. "Ouch! Vista!" Another slap sounded.

"Behave! Miss Militia said so!"

"I'm Aegis. You see what I had to deal with." The apparent leader of the Wards waved around with a theatrical moan. "Gallant is somewhere in the city, hopefully keeping his girlfriend from causing too much damage."

"I suppose that Kid Win is tinkering?" Miss Militia asked.

"Nah, he's in the shower. We encountered Mush and well..." Aegis shuddered.

"Ah. He got away I take it?"

"Unfortunately. Let's finish the introductions." He hurried to change the topic. Obviously not a fun encounter. Ah. Mush. The Merchant villain who uses trash to augment his form. That would be rather unpleasant if you couldn't take him out at ranger.

"This piece of sunshine is Shadow Stalker!" Clockblocker interrupted and pointed at the teen who was still glaring at me.

"Folks, so not making a great first impression here!" Aegis moaned.

"Don't worry. I've seen much worse." I grinned.

Aegis gave me an aggravated look. "That's not a resounding endorsement, you know."

"Yep."

"So a real life wizard?" Vista asked. Then her face lit up "Can you teach us magic?!" She suddenly sounded exited.

I waved a hand and spoke an incantation. A flash of purple light later, the youngest ward had a small kitten in her lap, who started looking around in confusion. A surprised squeak later and the furball was being petted, while Vista was busy cooing over it. What was it with females and cute animals anyway?!

"I'm a wizard, yes. Does someone want to be turned into toad as a further demonstration?" I smirked. "As for training, you have to be born with the gift for magic. I won't be able to teach you otherwise."

Considering what I found out while trying to help Taylor after I found her, it was almost guaranteed that even if a parahuman was born with magic, the shard in their heads had disrupted and/or drained that energy. I would need to make some research in that field.

When I had a proper workshop and privacy. Not to mention at least a few villains on whom to experiment. In the name of Magitech of course.

"Clock, not a word!" Aegis warned.

"Don't even think about it." Miss Militia gave me a warning look, though she still sounded rather amused.

"Spoil sport."

"Ma'am, please keep this two as far away as possible!" Aegis pointed at me and Clockblocker.

"I've got enough of this foolishness." Shadow Stalker growled and left the room.

"Isn't she cheerful..." I muttered.

"That's her on a good day." Clockblocker nodded sagely.

"It was nice meeting you." I waved. "I suppose we have a patrol now." I nodded to Miss Militia.

"It's time to go." She nodded back. "Try behaving yourselves."

"We won't! I promise!" Clockblocker exclaimed.

"Vista, please." Aegis sounded resigned.

"Ouch!" Another slap could be heard.

Nice kids, most of them. One psycho who loved bolts of all things too. At least it wasn't another bow and arrow crazy this time, no matter how little the practical distinction was. I was getting tired of such idiots already.

Once we were in the elevator, Miss Militia gave me a flat look. "Are you always a bad influence?"

"What did I do?!" I asked honestly. I was behaving myself, damn it!

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **23:53 January 16, 2011**

 **The Docks**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

On the face of it, this district wasn't as bad as some of the seedier parts of Gotham I've seen. Then again, we were just shy from hitting Merchant territory, so I could still be unpleasantly surprised. Then again, I wasn't expecting that anything else.

"I see. This is what happens to a port city when a kaiju strangles seaborne trade." I muttered.

Miss Militia, who was driving the PRT armored SUV we used for our patrol, shrugged.

"While that's bad for the city as a whole..." The Heroine trailed off and nodded towards the run down buildings outside," It's particularly bad for this district. It's most of it isn't viable economy-wise."

"Yeah. Even if by some miracle we clean up the current gangs tomorrow, it won't be too long before it gets as bad again."

"Well, without Lung and the damn Nazis around, there might be a slight improvement..." She mussed wishfully.

"It might. Yet, doing so, while necessary, won't do a thing for the problem that is slowly chocking the life of this city."

"You noticed that, did you? Or was it your AI friend?"

"A lot of the credit goes to Ana. Without her valuable input, it would have been much, much longer before I could get a clear picture on what's happening not only here, but in the world at large. At least in broad strokes."

That's one of the reasons why I shamelessly made a deal with the devil and was dealing with the front face company of honest to god Nazi of all things. In the short term, Medhall and Fortress construction were some of the best tool Ana and I could use to start fixing the economic damage, at least in this city. That in turn would help me get the credibility needed to try acting on a larger scene and eventually trying to save this Earth.

Because without intervention, it was obvious what was going to happen. I've seen it before, in the aftermath of Braniac's invasion. While here it was going on much slower, the signs were clear. The infrastructure needed to keep an industrial civilization viable was being destroyed. Sooner or later, order would totally break down.

I've seen what happens then. I've been a part of units which had to clean up and pacify in the aftermath. It wasn't something that I would want witness again. Even worse, unless something changed, there might not be an organized force left to pick up the pieces after all was said and done.

That would be death knell of the modern world at best, leaving the place a terrible quagmire in which super-powered warlords were fighting for scraps. At worst it would be the eventual end of humanity on this world.

"Ah. I see. So that's why you met with Medhall and Fortress construction. You want to make a lasting difference, not simply chasing villains."

"Yep. Oh, don't misunderstand me. Dealing with super-powered fools is vital. They simply could cause too much damage if left unchecked. However..." I trailed off. She was a smart woman and she was obviously already connecting the dots if she hasn't already.

"You want to at least mitigate the economic damage. Fix it if possible. That would eventually solve the root issue for most of our gang related problems. If you actually succeed in this, it would make recruiting new members much, much difficult."

"Some of the current crop of gang-bangers might get legit too. Some of them are usually joining of sheer desperation."

"Sad but true. Now, the real question is if that's all you'll be doing."

"I'm aware that some of the PRT directors would be concerned by my actions even if I wasn't from another dimension with no way to check up my story. When I have the needed capital I would want to either by or create my own company." I smiled sadly. "Some would think that it would be a cover for starting my own organized crime ring." Just like Luthor did before he got himself killed, the magnificent fucking bastard. "Can't blame them. There were a few folks in my world who did so, making their legit businesses fronts for less than legal activities. I do find the parallels ironic."

"Will you?"

"While I could see the appeal of creating my very own criminal empire, I won't do it. I'd have to deal with too much shit that way. However, having my own corporation deal with building and facilitating the release of the tech I will be introducing would save me some headaches."

"It will also make it easier for you to control the process."

Sharp girl. "That too. Some of the tech that I will be introducing would have some less than benevolent uses beyond their original purpose. Being able to relatively easily account for where everything goes… That would be for the best."

"You won't be making hand-held nukes or something like that, right?"

"Well..."

"VEIL!"

"Some of the more advanced power cells and reactors I will be eventually introducing could make a rather large bang under certain conditions."

"That's concerning. And above my pay grade, so I'll cheerfully kick it up the chain of command for them to deal with."

"Splendid. More headaches for me."

"You are welcome!"

"Don't be like that. Right now, you should be more concerned in what Ana, Dragon and Armsy are cooking up back at the Rig."

"Nonsense. Dragon should be able to keep them in check."

That was before she got a part of my overly enthusiastic daughter's code. If it was the wrong part, she'll be a borderline mad scientist too. Then again, all the geniuses I knew were that way. On a good day.

I looked through the window and frowned. "It's been a few hours already and besides that dealer we haven't seen anything interesting." Said dealer was already in the police's custody. Apparently he was a regular customer of the local PD. We got him while violating his probation after his second stint in jail too, which explained why he did such a spirited effort at running away.

"At least seeing that dealer sprint down the middle of the street was amusing." Miss Militia was apparently able to read my thoughts too. We got a laugh of the idiot while chasing him down with the car. We didn't really need to use our powers either. Just a by the books arrest and transfer of custody to the cops.

Trivial and boring, especially compared to my entrance in the hero business. On the other hand, the sticking lack of alien invasion was always good in my books.

"I really expected a less bo..."

"Don't say it!" Miss Militia hissed at me.

"Don't worry. I'm the wizard here. In my experience, there were only a couple of times when…"

"Don't!"

"But..."

Nearby a large engine roared to life. The doors of a warehouse. a few hundred meters down the street opened, and a hells damned offense to good taste drove out. It looked like something that a particularly insane and very drunk band of Mek boyz might do. It was huge. It was spiky. It would do and Ork Warboss proud, because those were a lot of rather large guns mounted all over the monstrosity.

"I'm blaming this on you." Miss Militia sounded resigned.

I squinted, activating my HUD to get a better view of the thing. My now enhanced vision caught the fain shimmer of a shield.

"I'll give you thins one. That thing is shielded too."

"Damn you, Squealer." Miss Militia groaned. She activated the radio and started calling backup.

"I'll suggest that you get a nice elevated position with a solid cover. Bring the big guns too." I said and opened the door. Damn, I missed my power amplifying artifacts right now. It's been some time since I've dealt with something resembling the bastard child of a tank, muscle car and drunk mad scientist's nightmare, without one.

This was going to be fun.


	9. Chapter 2 Parts 4&5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Chapter 2: Stepping stones**

 **Part 4**

* * *

 **23:58 January 16, 2011**

 **The Docks**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

The SUV left with a screech of tires as Miss Militia went to find herself a nice vantage point to provide fire support from.

"I'm five mikes out. Try not to get killed!" Ana grumbled over my implants.

"I'm not planning on it, dear." I sub-vocalized and summoned my three usual companions, before casting defensive magics. Naturally, my luck was acting up, because the bastardized excuse for a tank started rumbling our way.

Hmm… Whoever was behind the wheel wasn't slowing down despite the fact that my summons and me were in the middle of the road. That was downright rude. A muttered incantation later and a spiky ice wall appeared in front of me, conveniently blocking the way. I cast another spell and flew over the obstacle. My minions followed followed suit.

"Hi there, in whatever is the mess you are driving!" I shouted brightly.

"The fuck you are, shitstain?!" A male voice screamed from the wheeled thing. It wasn't slowing either.

"Protectorate inspection. Some of those weapons aren't up to snuff." I declared snottily.

"Hey! Mine's dakka's da best, cocksucker!" A woman's voice shouted in indignation.

"Well, shit. There's a genuine ork here."

"Boss, you taunted Murphy, didn't you?"

"Weeell..."

"You know what happened the last time!"

"Nonsense! That was because of contaminated chemicals!"

"I'm still not buying it!"

"Screw ya shitstain! Fuck off and die!" The man roared again. A lot of guns swiveled my way.

"That's very rude." I sighed. I hated dealing with fucking drug deales, especially the idiots who actually sampled their own product.

I waved a hand in a halting motion, while uttering a word of power, then went evasive. A translucent barrier formed between us and the Merchant's engine of destruction. It was not a moment too soon, either. Lasers, particle beams and something more exotic slammed into the shields, which held for a couple of seconds, before a railgun round punched through and blew a chunk out of the ice wall.

I smiled. Now it was genuine self defense and protection of bystanders, if there was someone dumb enough to be out here during the night. I weaved through the air and opened fire, sending spears of arcane energy at the vehicle, while improvised AA weaponry started tracking me and shooting back. Squealer's shields held, refracting and dispersing my initial assault. Then Spiky slammed in the barrier, making it waver, before it was shattered when the Fury entered the fray. My ranged minion slammed a thick beam of dark fire in the vehicle, however the armor held.

A loud, piercing sound came from the front of the wheeled atrocity a moment before Spiky was thrown back. Huh. A sonic cannon too.

I wasted no time and riddled the side of my target with energy blasts, while flying in a wild evasive pattern. Shells were exploding all over me, the shrapnel splashing harmlessly over my defensive field. Unfortunately, the effect of my own attack was underwhelming – it only destroyed chunks of ablative armor.

Whoever was in charge over there, didn't like the fact that I was able to scratch the paint. A panel in the back opened, revealing a missile launcher. I tried to blast it, however the enemy's shield had regenerated and stopped my preemptive strike short of it's target.

"Are you in position?" I asked Miss Militia and went supersonic just as four missiles were launched at me.

"Ten seconds."

"Bring the AT weapons. That thing is tough."

"You don't say."

I headed straight up and started conjuring countermeasures. They were softball sized spheres with wings if someone is wondering. I left a cloud of the things behind me and glanced back. It was just in time to see the first two missiles slam into them and exploded. The detonations scattered the cloud, allowing the remaining two missiles to pass unimpeded. Those were rather powerful too, not standard AA fragmentation warheads.

I changed my trajectory into a dive, waiting until the missiles were no longer on a line with the cityscape, before I started blasting at them with magical beams. It took me a couple of seconds before both were destroyed and I could concentrated on the Merchant's Orkified vehicle. The thing had chewed through most of my ice wall instead of doing the smart and faster thing, and choosing another way. Well, apparently Squealer wasn't much smarter than the average Ork too.

From my vantage point, I could see the Fury flying above the vehicle and blasting it for all it was worth, yet the shield kept on holding, while the top mounted weaponry was ineffectually shooting at my minion, who danced in the air, evading every shot coming its way.

"I'm engaging." I missile shot from atop a building down-street and slammed in the shield. It held for the initial explosion, then shattered as the second stage of the tandem warhead activated. However the vehicle itself remained intact. It's engine roared and it sped forward, heading straight at the mostly demolished wall of ice.

I smiled when it slammed in it and went through. Straight into the deep and wide swamp I turned the road hidden by the wall. The armored behemoth plunged straight in and started sinking fast. It's engine roared in fury, the wheels spun, throwing thick mud everywhere, but it didn't help.

The idiots in charge tried to shoot their way through, blowing up weapons which had their barrels filled with whatever stuff was in the swamp. The remaining guns swept over the surface, evaporating water and heating up the mud, however there was simply too much of the stuff for the available firepower to make more than a dent and stop the sinking.

The shield flickered and went out. Apparently being half submerged in a swamp wasn't good for it. I smiled and opened fire, joining the Fury in slagging the remaining weaponry. Needless to say, we continued to evade until the enemy guns were gone. By then only the upper half of the passenger cabin was above the murky water. Only now, the engine coughed and whined a few times before shutting down.

"Whoever is inside that tomb." I shouted. "Get out with your hands behind your heads or I'll bury you." I grunted, while wondering if I could get away with simply evaporating the damn drug dealers.

"Screw you, shitstain! I'll kill ya!" The man screamed.

"Bad idea." I sneered. A spell later and the water in the swamp was replaced by bubbling acid, which promptly and eagerly started eating through the armor.

"What's this shit?!" Squealer screamed.

"Acid. Have fun."

"Boss, what did you do this time?" Ana groaned. My HUD was showing that she was on a final approach to my position.

"I dealt with the situation." I explained and dismissed the remains of the ice wall, while looking around. The collateral damage was surprisingly low.

Ana appeared overhead a few seconds later and scanned the area.

"You've been playing around. Again." She declared.

"I got bored after all those meetings. Lawyers." I shrugged.

"Isn't the acid a bit much?"

"You compiled the briefing on the Merchants, Ana. You tell me." I shrugged.

She rotated to face the acid swamp and wobbled in dismissive manner. "It serves them right."

"It burns!" The man in the sinking vehicle screamed.

 **=TM=**

* * *

 **Part 5**

 **00:05 January 17, 2011**

 **The Docks**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"Uh, boss… Are you going to just leave them there?" Ana asked. There was a trace of concern in her voice.

I looked at the artificial swamp, which was filled with boiling acid. To be honest, there was a part of me that could have left them in there and not cared at all. After fighting through all eight months of Braniac's fucking invasion and villain's going off the reservation during the chaos… Well, let's just say that my perception of what was considered acceptable was rather warped. It was the same for most of the surviving heroes by that point. That in turn made what followed actually possible. It was ugly. It was bloody. Yet, when the dust finally started settling a couple of years later, that Earth was entering a golden age.

The fact that most of us were decked for mandated therapy unless another genuine catastrophe happened, was another topic, though it was relevant. If Ana hadn't pointed out that this world was sliding towards the abyss and no one apparently was successful in stopping it, I would have helped the locals tech up and enjoyed a vacation. Because that way, there would be less opportunities to meet villains and be temped to leave them melt into acid. Oh, don't get me wrong, my morality was rather intact.

Most of the time. However there were instance where it didn't quite compute the right way. Like now.

"Boss, you'll likely regret it later." Ana pouted.

"You know, I just intended to let them stew for a bit so we won't have to try peeling them out of that tank. It's got both reactive armor and who knows what other little surprises. I'm not sending my summons to get a brick of explosives blow in their faces."

"You are a fucking wizard. You've got other options."

"Not as fun." I pouted.

"Dad! Enough!"

"Spoilsport."

An incantation later, the swamp was filled with murky water. "Fellas, I'll ask you again. Get out and surrender. Or I'll get creative this time!" I shouted to the Merchants.

"Fuck you!" This time, it was the woman shouting.

"You know, that if they persist with that attitude, back home I might be permitted to melt them."

"If they present a danger, sure. They very well might. Depending on the state or country." Ana said in a soothing voice. "We aren't home, boss. Besides, we both know what I would have to do if you go on the deep end again." She said in a small voice. "I don't want to shoot you with the heavy weapons."

"There goes that idea. So I can't summon Igor to open that tin can?"

"Daaad!" An ominous whine came from Ana. That was her heavy weaponry charging.

"Fine, fine. I'll behave." I grunted. Then I again, I might really regret it if I let the fuckers melt.

I shook my head. Sometimes, I wondered why the hell I wanted to be a hero. There was simply too much inefficient red tape to deal with. It wasn't like those two imbeciles in the orkified tank were innocent or something. If they were really Squealer and Shitstain a.k.a. Skidmark, the fucks would have gotten a kill order back home for what was publically available about the bastards.

"Get the fuck out or I'll let you melt, slowly!" I growled loud enough to be heard down there.

"What melting? Veil the hell did you do?" Miss Militia was suddenly next to me. Her eyes were glaring disapprovingly at me.

"Just a bit of encouragement. Do you really want to go there and try prying the out of that thing? Who knows how many active weapon systems they have. Hell, those blocks of armor are bad enough by themselves. They can blow up any baseline human who tries to get close."

"So? Don't tell me you can't get them out without getting into downright illegal, not to mention creepy territory." The glare intensified.

"You two won't let me have nay fun, are you?" I looked at Ana and MM.

"Nah. Only when you get out of line." My AI daughter nodded.

The Heroine gave me a flat look.

"The hard way it is, then." I grumbled and started peeling the armor with lances of concentrated arcane energy.

The whole acid thing was much more efficient power wise.

"You might want to check on that warehouse when our backup arrives." I tried some small talk.

"Nope. I'm not leaving you out of my sight." Miss Militia grumbled. "Armsmaster can deal with it when he arrives."

I pouted and continued to cut.

Needless to say, we ignored the curses and threats coming from inside the tank.

It took me ten minutes to deal with enough of the armor the hard way and tear off the roof of the passenger compartment. By that time, we were surrounded by PRT troopers, who had weapons trained on the tank. Which was a prudent idea, because once they were uncovered, the villains opened fire with laser pistols and got foamed for their trouble.

"My way would have been faster and safer. They might have gotten lucky and hit someone."

Miss Militia growled.

"Dad, you are digging your hole deeper and deeper."


	10. Chapter 2 Parts 6&7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or anything related with the DC franchise. They belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners and publishers. This story is written with no commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for rent or sale.**

 **Technomage**

 **Chapter 2: Stepping stones**

 **=TM=**

 **Part 6**

 **08:00 January 17, 2011**

 **Director Piggot's office**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"An acid swamp?" The Director gave us a flat look.

"It's a convenient way to safely get people out of armored vehicles." I shrugged.

"Not for the occupants." Miss Militia quipped.

"They shouldn't have went on a ride in a tank." Another shrug. They were villains damn it. Besides, I did hold back.

"You know, I hoped that the whole Dragonslayer fiasco was an accident." Piggot glared at me.

"It was. I really didn't expect them to pack WMDs." I winced. That bloody hurt. Then again, even in Metropolis and the other hot spots, you really didn't see such shit anymore. Well, that's after all the ordinance left laying around after the invasion was cleared up. "Say what you will, Director - the Merchants did surrender without using all the weaponry built in that wheeled abomination to level a few city blocks and wipe out a few of your fast response teams in the bargain." I pointed out.

"Acid swamp." Piggot growled. "Is that how you act back in your world? I don't believe that people would find it acceptable." She glared at me.

"Before the invasion? Probably not." I sighed. "Until then most heroes were reluctant or outright refused to kill. The greatest war Earth has seen and more than a billion casualties tend to change people. On the other hand, before the invasion it was normal for villains to escape from prison soon after being arrested and go wreak havoc before being temporarily put behind bars… again." I frowned. "Just as it happens here. It might be for the same reasons too." I raised an eyebrow. "By the time I got my powers, the war was in full swing. We could no longer tolerate villains and their shenanigans. The rest is history."

"That's irrelevant to the matter at hand." The director glared at me. "What the hell made you think that an ACID swamp was a good idea for DE-escalating the situation?!"

"No one died. Depending on the ordinance and power source stuck in that tank, any of my more powerful attacks could have resulted in unacceptable collateral damage. The perpetrators did surrender without blowing the PRT agents that arrived as backup." I repeated. What was her point? I didn't outright blow up that thing with the Merchants inside.

"You know they could sue you for this?"

"For what?" I asked. The idea was frankly baffling. Villains suing a Hero or LEOs? That wouldn't fly even before the invasion, much less after the war.

"Excessive brutality." Piggot deadpanned.

"Against super villains?" I gave her a dubious look. The idea was simply ludicrous. I don't think that there have been such a case ever since I gained my powers… though the war and its aftermath might be to blame. If I had to be honest to myself, my perspective was quite warped, but excessive brutality? Against villains in a tank? The fuck?!

Miss Militia groaned. "I think we have some kind of misunderstanding here." The heroine muttered. She gave me a funny look.

"Probably." I conceded. "What exactly is the issue? I did read your operational manuals. I didn't use my powers against civilians, just criminals and I did hold back substantially."

The women stared at me for a long moment. The director had an interesting expression on her face too.

"Villains in a heavily armed tank. In a city. It was resolved without deaths." I spoke as if to children. "What the hell is the problem?!" My exasperation was starting to show.

"You put them in a god damned ACID lake!" The Director shouted.

"I'm still not seeing the problem. That's a trademark of mine." Dealing with those Joker wanables back in Gotham was pure karma. They did love playing with acid, the bastards.

"Heroes don't do that." Miss Militia stated.

"Sure – there are some who refuse to kill or otherwise permanently deal with villains. Some of the most powerful and famous Heroes back home are like that." I nodded. "A lot changed their tune during the invasion. The other of the more 'moralistic' metahumans didn't really try to stop the rest of us from doing what was necessary." I shrugged. Though Superman and his friends usually frown when I'm around. On the other hand John and Wonder Woman have no problem with doing what has to be done.

Batman, well he was a mixed bag.

"You're still considered a hero?" The Director asked.

"Yep. I'm working for Wonder Woman – one of the founders of the Justice League. She was also one of my magic teachers." She was the one to make sure that I wasn't experimenting without adult supervision too. When she told you not to, you listen. Usually.

"That doesn't mean much to us." Miss Militia quipped.

"Think Alexandria – without flying but with magic powers. She's a founding member of our closest equivalent to the Protectorate."

"So people just leave you to commit vigilante justice?" The Director sounded incredulous.

"Not really. After the war, a lot of low key villains and at least a few heroes got lynched by crowds, militias and hero teams who had their fill with various bastards escaping prisons on regular basis. As I said before – the previous policies for dealing with villains didn't work and most people were no longer willing to accept that. In short, if a criminal threatens civilians or large property damage with either powers or advanced technology – then lethal force is authorized. It's the same if said criminal has been a problem in the past and they surface even if they aren't currently causing trouble."

"How did that happen?" Miss Militia exclaimed.

"Most villains can be taken out by a normal people with a plan and conventional weaponry. From what I've seen – here it's even easier. A lot of Capes might have interesting powers and a lot of firepower, but relatively few of them are more durable than a baseline human. Back home, most metahumans gain increased durability with their other powers, still many are vulnerable to conventional small arms and explosives. It makes me wonder why the police, SWAT units and your Rapid Response teams haven't dealt with most villains in this city. Then again, we don't have those ridiculous unwritten rules..." I trailed off.

The women stared at me as if I had grown a second head.

 **=TM=**

 **Part 7**

 **08:06 January 17, 2011**

 **Director Piggot's office**

 **PRT Headquarters**

 **Brockton Bay**

 **Earth Bet**

"The hell? How do you prevent villains from escalating?"

"If they do? We kill them." I stated flatly.

"That's it? Yet you consider yourself a hero." Miss Militia stared at me.

"I do. If I wasn't I would have immediately escalated to deadly power the moment that tank appeared. The lack of civilians in the area is what held my hand."

"How hasn't your world went to hell?" Director Piggot asked. I could clearly hear the sick fascination in her voice.

"Well, things were going in that direction even before the war. Society had its fill with super-villains constantly escaping and getting away. While some heroes continued to hold onto principles of not killing or seriously hurting criminals if there was any alternative, many more were starting to question what they were doing if the villains they caught with a significant risk to life and limb were simply going to escape or be broken out." I paused for breath.

"Braniac's invasion simply hastened that process. We already had a lot of individual non-powered vigilantes or groups of such, along with independent metahumans dealing more permanently with various criminals. In places things were so bad that we had near open warfare on the streets. In the end, we as a society had to make a choice. It was inevitable – we had to either take drastic measures to deal with the villains or watch society crumble around us. It's the same thing I see happening in this world – without the Protectorate or the government putting their foot down, civilization will simply break down. In fact, here's much worse than we were before the war. I personally don't see a fix that isn't going to be very ugly." I shrugged. "The invasion and its aftermath," I sighed, "It kicked it all into high gear. Many villains took advantage of the chaos – they showed us the Mad Max hell-world we would have if they weren't dealt with permanently. The rest is history."

"That's..." Miss Militia trailed off and shook her head.

"I'm sorry if I'm not the brand of hero you expected me to be, Director. I'm what I am." I looked at Piggot.

"While I can see where you're coming from, that still leaves the problem with your acid swamp." The Director stared flatly at me.

"How so? I disabled their tinker-tech TANK, then used the threat of lethal force to made them surrender without bloodshed. If the Merchants had opened fire, I would have blown the damn thing and hoped that they didn't have a power-source that would level the block if breached. Would the local police do anything less?"

"This was a parahuman crime, so not under their jurisdiction." The Director pointed out.

I shrugged. It's been some time since the police and SWAT back home weren't equipped to deal with a villains.

"The PRT then. How would have gotten them out? By asking nicely? I do remember seeing at least one van having AT weaponry in the back."

"That's different. My agents were not parahuman." The Director snapped.

I just stared at the Director. That actually made sense, from a twisted point of view and it made me furious. I've dealt with this in the early days after the war – government officials caring more about how things looked on TV than about dealing with villains.

"Ah. So this is the problem isn't it? I used what some might interpret as lethal force while acting as a Protectorate member against villains who didn't have standing Kill order. It's not about the Merchants at all – it's about how it would look on the public that a 'Hero' was willing to kill. It makes parahumans look 'scary' so its a no-no. I guess I was mistaken about the Protectorate – you're all about PR instead of keeping the streets safe. You'll have my resignation within the hour." I snapped and stood up.

"Of course it's about PR! The PRT and Protectorate for that matter live and die by the public's perception! We're already tremendously outnumbered by villains! It's not like we can win a stand up fight. Do you think I like it?! I have to sent my people out there with their hands tied behind their backs to face villains who won't think twice about killing them! Most of the bastards we catch escape anyway and we usually have to keep it that way not to provoke a retaliation we can't deal with!" Piggot surged to her feet and shouted at me.

"What the hell is wrong with your people?!" I groaned. They very well might have their reasons for this madness… but from an outside perspective – that's precisely what it was – insanity.

"Endbringers – those are the main reason why anyone would cite to you." Piggot sighed. She didn't seem particularly convinced – it sounded more like toying the party line.

"While I haven't faced those creatures yet, do you think we don't have similar things to deal with often too? There's always an invasion, someone who thinks that they're a god and have the raw power to back it, a natural disaster or something else ready to wreck a city for the kick of it." I snapped back. "We don't let those things hold us back."

"How? They destroy whole cities every few months!" Miss Militia exclaimed. "How do you handle that as a society?"

"We fight. We rebuild. We endure… and it was all made so much easier once we had a handle on our super-villains." I spoke softly.


End file.
